Jaune Arc: Student of Shade Academy
by Blade1hunter
Summary: Jaune was forced out of Beacon when his fake transcripts were released to the public during the Vytal Festival. However, another academy has taken an interest in the blonde. Join Jaune as he gets welcomed into a Shade Academy, and has to Prove himself, and prove that he belongs there. Teams BRNZ and NDGO may help him, or hinder him as he makes it into the school.
1. Chapter 1

Jaune stared at the pyramid like academy in front of him. Sweat poured down his forehead as he stood in the hot desert sun. He had an uneasy feeling. Was he really prepared for this? I mean just a couple of months ago he was shown as a fraud to the entire world at the Vytal festival. And of course the minute that everyone in Vale saw that, they started protesting.

Not only for the fact that he was a student, but team leader also. They even started criticizing Ruby for being too young. They disqualified team JNPR from the Vytal festival, and many people began to demand that Jaune be kicked out of the school.

Even his friends started treating him differently. They were more evasive of him, kept shutting him out, ignoring him. It was as if they were completely different people. Ruby was even starting to act cold to him, like Weiss cold. His first friend at Beacon started to hate him. Pyrrha tried to defend him as did Nora and Ren, but everyone else shunned or taunted him.

However, Ozpin stood up for him. He said he knew about the transcript and kept him because he showed leadership abilities. Of course the media didn't care if Jaune showed abilities. They only cared that Ozpin knew of the transcripts and still allowed Jaune to be a leader. And so, with all of that going on for about a week, Jaune did the only thing he could do.

He quit. He packed his bags, talked with Ozpin, who disapproved of Jaune's decision, and left Beacon. He even made a big media announcement about it. Of course, people were still mad at Ozpin and continued to insult and berate Beacon.

The Vytal festival continued like normal though, and eventually people cooled down, but people still kept their new opinions about Beacon.

And Jaune blamed himself. How couldn't he? Not only did he get himself kicked out of Beacon, he destroyed Beacon's reputation and nearly got his friend expelled.

Well… ex friend now. Once he left Beacon he changed his scroll number, and made sure to never contact them again. Why should he stay in contact with the people that wouldn't stand up for him? Team RWBY obviously didn't care about him, so why should he care about them?

As for his team, the reason he cut off connection to them is so they don't worry. He sent them one last message on his scroll, telling them to not worry, focus on their own stuff at Beacon. He then changed his scroll number so they wouldn't worry, or at the very least, know he won't return the calls. But he only told himself that to fool himself. He knew what he was doing was selfish. But sometimes being selfish was a necessary sin.

Jaune is shaken out of the thoughts of his old friends when he feels a hand placed on his shoulder. It belonged to a brown skinned person with a grey/purple gradient shirt, with a purple scarf. His hair was black at the roots with the left side slicked down and slowly turned into grey.

It was the other leader Jaune and his team faced at the festival. Brawnz Ni was his name. "Are you ready?" He asked. Jaune sighed.

"Probably not," He said. "Don't know why your headmaster want's a fraud in his school though."

"Well, she doesn't view you as a fraud," Brawnz said. "Neither do I. Aside from just having your hammer girl hit us in one go, the rest of the match you were very strategic. You knew your teams' weaknesses and strengths."

"But this is Vacuo," Jaune retorted. "Where the unspoken rule is 'If you can survive here you can live here.' And I can't survive here."

Brawnz put a hand to Jaune's mouth. "Two things: don't ever let anyone here catch you saying that. They'll see you as a target. And Two: you _can_ survive here. You're a huntsman Jaune. And even though you may have faked your way into Beacon, Ozpin kept you because you could survive." Jaune nods his head. Brawnz takes away his hand.

"So… shall we?" Jaune said with fake enthusiasm. Brawnz nods.

"Now because of your… popularity, people are going to be staring at you. Don't give them the satisfaction of staring back. Keep your eyes forward. Ignore any whispering." Jaune nods his head and the two begin to climb the steps up to the academy.

As they reached the top, Jaune was huffing a little bit from the minor workout as the stairs were about fifty steps to the front door. Brawnz seemed unaffected probably due to him going up and down them all the time.

Brawnz waits for Jaune to catch his breath. Once he does he gives Brawnz the thumbs up and they walk into the academy. As Brawnz leads the way to the headmaster's office, Jaune can spot a few eyes looking at him from his peripherals, however he ignores them and keeps his eyes forward.

Brawnz looks over his shoulder a few times, glad seeing Jaune ignore prying eyes. As they walk through multiple hallways and a lot of turns, Jaune finally messed up.

A big student around six foot three purposely bumps into Jaune's shoulder. The force turned Jaune around and the student turned around with a scowl on his face. Jaune made eye contact with him.

"Watch where you're going!" He said with his arms out. Jaune looks at the giant before him. He had tanned skin and black hair that was spiked upwards in the front and slicked in the back. He had green eyes and had a very muscular build. He was wearing a Black T-Shirt that had red skull with a white dagger in its mouth. He had an unzipped grey hoodie on as well. He had a belt buckle that said "RIP" and wore grey cargo pants with black sneakers.

And the most noticeable feature on him was the bull horns.

Jaune looked at the guys eyes for a split second and then turned away, but that was enough to provoke him.

"What?" he started. "The fraud can't say sorry? Thinks he's so big that he faked his way into Beacon that he can do whatever he wants?"

With the raised voice a couple of more students turned their heads. Brawnz turned and gulped. "Come on Jaune," He mumbled. "Just keep walking."

Jaune tried to move past him but the student grabbed Jaune by the hoody and pushed him back. "Nuh uh, you're not getting out that easily."

"I didn't do anything," Jaune said.

"You apologize to people when you run into them."

"But you ran into me." The faunus cocked his head slightly.

"So? That doesn't mean you can be rude."

"What do you want from me?!" Jaune raised his voice and the faunus smiled. He picked Jaune up by the sweatshirt and raised him in the air.

"Nothing. I just want to prove that you don't deserve a second chance." The bull faunus cracked the knuckles in his free hand. "And I'm going to do that right now." He raised his fist and pulled it back ready to punch Jaune. It didn't help that a crowd was forming, half of whom were egging him on.

"Enough," a voice that carried authority said. Everyone turns and sees an olive skinned man wearing a brown scarf so that it covers the lower half of his face. He had brown hair that was in a crew cut. He was wearing a black robe like shirt with what looked to be scorpion like patterns. He also wore black jeans and brown boots. "Put him down Malcolm."

The faunus student named Malcolm gets a smirk on his face but drops Jaune, who falls on his butt. "Whatever you say Mr. Jett," he said. Mr. Jett walks up to the group and stares at the student's.

"I would like to remind everyone to treat each other fairly," he started. "Even new students. You will never know if you will need their help, and they let you die over something petty." A couple of students had guilt on their faces and others ignored or didn't show it. Malcolm however had a smirk on his face. "Besides, we will see if he is a fraud sooner or later. After all, most frauds die here within days."

Those words seemed to go right into Jaune's ears and into his soul. He thought Glynda Goodwitch was up front but that was something else. The crowd that started to gather dispersed. The faunus named Malcolm turned away but when he was halfway down the hall and turned to Jaune. He pointed his middle and pointer fingers to his eyes and then pointed to Jaune.

Brawnz walks over to the blonde and helps him up. "Are you all right?"

"Just dandy," Jaune said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "Who was the teacher?"

"Mr. Jett," Brawnz explained. The two continued their walk to the headmaster's office. "He's our fighting instructor."

"Well something tells me he isn't going to like me." To Jaune's surprise Brawnz laughs.

"That's what all first years thought of him. Hell even some of the second and third years are scared of him. To say he's a blunt person is putting it lightly." They finally reach an elevator and Brawnz presses a button.

"Oh sweet merciful Gods an elevator!" Jaune said.

"What do you mean?" Brawnz said in a playful tone. "This is just to get _to_ the stairs to her office." Jaune looked at Brawnz and handed him his sword.

"Hit me as hard as you can with that thing. I'm not taking more stairs." The two laugh as Brawnz hands Jaune his sword back. "Anyway, I just think the fact that I got publicly humiliated on live television doesn't help my case."

They hear a ding and enter the elevator as it opened up. They enter and Brawnz presses the button to the Headmaster's office and the doors close, sending both of them going up. "Jaune," Brawnz started. "People are going to treat you like dirt because of that. However, one thought is going through everyone's head."

"What's that?"

"Why does our headmaster want you here?" Jaune actually stopped and thought about that. If he remembered correctly, Brawnz said that the headmaster wanted Jaune. He just encourages Jaune more. But then a thought popped into Jaune's head that made him in a sour mood.

"Maybe its pity," Jaune said in a sad tone. The elevator stops and opens up. Brawnz motions out the doors.

"Let's find out,"" Brawnz said. The care in his voice perked Jaune up a little and they walk down a hallway. It was decorated with various forms of art from statues of grimm, to hand painted canvases. Jaune stared at them and even saw a grimm bone mask on display. At the end of the hallway was a wooden door. Brawnz knocked loudly on the door and the two waited for an answer.

"Come in!" a female voice said. Brawnz opens the door and walks in, Jaune right behind him. The room was filled with books as high as the ceiling which was a good five meters. A ladder was connected to a book case and piles of paper littered the room. Jaune saw in a corner what looked to be a small bed with a couple of blankets. Jaune saw a sword and shield hanging on a wall behind the desk that had a serpent coiling around a sword.

The desk itself was nothing special. Just a wooden desk with more modern technology stuff added into it. Behind the desk was a woman with a book in one hand a glass of what looked to be dark red wine in the other. The woman herself was wearing what looked to be just a normal white T-shirt and a black vest that was buttoned. She had Dakr hair that was dyed a light blue at the end of her tied ponytail in the back.

She looked up from her book and gained a small smile. She closed the book and placed it and the glass on the desk in front of her and stood up. She does a little bow to Jaune and Brawnz.

"Mr. Arc," She said straightening herself. She had a semi-formal tone but also one that had a friendly and warming tone in it. "Very nice to meet you. Mr. Ni, thank you for bringing me Jaune."

Brawnz waves his hand a little. "Of course." He is silent for a moment before he adds on. "I truly believe he deserves to come here." Jaune turns to Brawnz with a mix of emotions on his face. He doesn't know whether to be happy that Brawnz is willing to help him, or mad and depressed because he feels the need to help.

"Even if you said he didn't deserve to be here my mind wouldn't have changed Brawnz," the woman said. She walks around her desk and holds out her hand. "Belinda Nyx, headmaster of Shade."

Jaune notice she was wearing a black skirt that stopped just above her knees, but also had calf high white socks with black sneakers. However what caught Jaune's attention were her eyes. Her eyes were normal white and her iris was a yellow color, but it appeared her pupils were black slits.

Not only that, whenever she opened her mouth Jaune noticed that two of her teeth were fangs, and her tongue seemed to be shaped a little bit differently. These were small things that most people wouldn't take a second glance at, as her beauty actually covered up these small factors. Jaune wasn't most people. He shook her hand which felt very smooth in his hand.

"Jaune Arc," he said. "But I guess you already knew that." She gives a small chuckle. "Miss Nyx, may I ask you something?"

"Of course!" she said happily. "What is it?"

"You're a faunus, is that correct?" Jaune asked. "To be more precise, a reptile one?" Brawnz looked at him as if he just grew a second head. Belinda laughed.

"Very perceptive Mr. Arc!" She said proudly. Jaune could feel a tiny warmth in his chest grow, due to the praise. "Yes I am. I'm actually a snake faunus."

"It took me a few weeks to realize she was a snake Faunus," Brawnz said. "And you found out in a manner of seconds." Jaune gives a nervous chuckle.

"Well after spending so many years growing up with sisters you tend to read people a little bit easier," Jaune said. Nyx claps her hands together and gets their attention.

"All right, introductions aside," she said. "Brawnz, I would like to discuss Jaune's initiation here. May we discuss this in private?"

Brawnz nods his head. "Of course Miss Nyx," he said. He walks towards the door, but not before giving Jaune a reassuring pat on the shoulder. Jaune nods back and Brawnz takes his leave.

The door closes as Brawnz left and Nyx goes back to her desk and sits down. Jaune pulls out a chair and sits across from her. She picks up the glass of red liquid she had before and offers it to Jaune. "Red wine Mr. Arc?" Jaune shakes his head.

"I'm not old enough," Jaune said. To his surprise she lets out a giggle.

"You truly are vanilla Mr. Arc." Jaune raised an eyebrow to this. "If you don't want to drink just say so. But my philosophy here is 'If you're old enough to fight the hell-spawn that threatens the world, you're old enough to drink.' What do you say?" Jaune shakes his head again.

"I'm glad for the offer, but I would only take it to be polite." Nyx smiled at the response.

"Polite, and truthful. Respectable traits. Of course they can be weaknesses as well." She takes a small sip of the wine and sets the glass down, letting her words sink in for a moment. She noticed Jaune tensed up at her words. "Relax Mr. Arc, anything can be a weakness."

"I guess that's true." Jaune scratched the back of his head as he said that.

"Anyway, I'm sure you have a lot of questions." Jaune nodded his head. She motions for him to speak. "Ask away."

"Well…" Jaune couldn't think of which question he wanted to ask. He wanted to ask about what he would do here, what would happen if he got through initiation, what was initiation. Of course, those were the last questions on his mind. The most important one, was the one he decided to ask first. "Why do you want me here when I'm a fraud? Someone who faked his papers and then gets publicly humiliated and drags down a school's reputation for it. Why risk it for me?"

Belinda closes her eyes and puts on a straight face. She hums a little tune. Jaune could feel his heart beat faster with each second that passed by. Finally, she smiled and looked Jaune straight in the eye.

"I believe the risk I took will be worth it," She said proudly. "Jaune Arc, whether you know it or not, you have your family's fighting spirit in you. After all, why are you here if you didn't want to come here?"

Jaune didn't know what to say to that. What _was_ he doing here? Why did he come to Shade when he still felt the way he did with Beacon? Nyx notices Jaune's lsight change and smiles.

"Any other questions Mr. Arc?" She asked. He shakes his head.

"No," Jaune said standing up. "My questions can wait until after." Nyx raised an eyebrow.

"Wait until after what?" She asked rhetorically. She knew exactly what he was going to say. But she knew that not only would she be happy with his words, but he would also. Jaune takes a deep breath and grows a confident smile.

"It can wait until after initiation. What is it, and when do I start?"

 **To be continued.**

 **A/N Hey guys! So welcome to "Jaune Goes to Shade." I hope you guys enjoy this as much as I am enjoying writing this. I like NDGO and BRNZ in season 3 and I wanted Jaune to go to a different academy. So thus, this story was born!** **Now i'll try to get a chapter out every week for the first arc, and with Summer just around the corner that should be pretty easy to do.** **Anyway I hope you enjoyed and I will see you in the next Chapter.**


	2. Chapter 2

Team NDGO was just hanging out in their dorm room for the day. The dorm was a lot bigger than the ones at Beacon. It was big enough for the beds to not only be separated, but enough for each one to have a waist high dresser next to them on the right. And the room had a TV set up, a mini fridge, and two desks.

Classes were starting next week as everyone slowly continued to come in from Vale. Each one of the girls decided to enjoy the day in their own way.

Nebula was actually studying a little bit. She sat at her desk with her pencil in her hand as she read her math textbook. She wore a plain white T-Shirt with a picture of a warrior standing triumphantly on a stone raising their battle ax in the air. She wore dark blue athletic shorts that stopped just above her knees. She twirled the pencil in her hands a little before writing down notes for the future.

Dew was laying on her bed with her laptop and with her red headphones on. She had a loose, light green tank top on, with a pair of black sweatpants. She was nodding her head slightly to the beat that played through her headphones. However she cringed a little at a certain point and paused the music. She then continued to edit the music so it didn't sound so bad.

Gwen was reading a fashion magazine that was laid out in front of her. She was wearing only a grey sweatshirt and black shorts that stopped halfway up her thighs. She was cleaning one of her daggers as she read her magazine. Keeping maintenance for her was pretty tedious as she had to clean daggers that took up an entire dress

Octavia was watching TV as she kept her feet up on her desk. She was wearing a blue tank top with blue joggers. She had the remote in her hand and was flipping through a bunch of channels. She was having trouble finding a show she liked.

Eventually Nebula gets a text on her scroll and picks it up and looks at it. As she read it she put her pencil down and closed her book. "All right girls," Nebula said as she stretched. Her team all looks at her. "Get dressed. Apparently we don't get to enjoy a lazy relaxing day."

"Why what's going on?" Octavia asked as she set feet off the desk. Nebula shakes the scroll.

"I got a text from our headmistress." That's when all girls straightened up. "She said we should bring our weapons and meet at the entrance of the school."

As each of the girls got there gear, Octavia asked a question. "Did Miss Nyx ever say why?" Nebula shook her head no. She went to her dresser and got her combat apparel and her weapon. She put her weapon in crossbow form an aimed downed the sights.

"Well maybe it's a mission," Dew said as she combed her hair. Spending most of the day in their room the girls didn't really care about their appearances.

"No she usually gives us details on the missions," Gwen said as she grabbed her daggers. "Maybe it's a reward?"

"A reward for what?" Octavia said with a slight chuckle. "I mean we were eliminated by a half-naked faunus, and a guy who was afraid of water."

"Yeah, not exactly reward worthy is it?" Nebula added on. The girls laughed and continued bantering with each other as they got their clothing and weapons. While they did have their own rocket lockers, they found it a lot more comfortable for them to have everything they own near them. That way it doesn't get stolen, or, even creepier, have a pervert take their stuff.

They got their weapons and exited their dorm room and began heading to the entrance of Shade. Along the way they saw another first year, a faunus bull by the name of Malcom.

"Hey Malcom," Dew said as she waved to the tall tank of a faunus. He gives the girls a small smile and waves back.

"Hey girls, where are you off to?" he asked.

"Headmistress Nyx asked for us to go to the entrance for some reason," Nebula explained. Malcom raised an eyebrow.

"Mission?" he asked. Gwen shook her head.

"No," the black haired girl said. "She didn't say."

"Huh, Well whatever it is you girls can handle it."

"You're damn right we can!" Octavia said with a confident smile. Malcolm chuckled.

"Always confident, that's what I like about you Octavia," Malcom said pointing to the red head, causing a smile.

"Say Malcom," Dew asked. "Did you really hurt a new guy?" Everyone stopped walking and turned to Malcom. He scratched the back of his head but still stood tall.

"You girls know I only give someone a pavement facial when they deserve it."

"But did he deserve it?" Nebula asked. "I mean he is just a new guy."

"Yeah but he's a fraud." There was venom in Malcom's voice when he said that. "He doesn't deserve to be here."

"How do you know that?" Octavia asked. Malcom scoffs.

"Trust me, you'll know him when you see him." Malcom shakes his head. "Anyway, you better not keep the headmistress waiting. I'll see you girls around."

"Bye Malcom!" they all said as they waved goodbye to the faunus. They continued heading to the entrance of the school. As they reached the stairs to go down to the entrance, they met with team BRNZ, minus their leader.

"Hey girls," Nolan said. Nolan was the dark-red head of team BRNZ. He had light skin and wore a simple white T-shirt with a blue vest that had a black hood attached to it and he had fingerless gloves and rolled up sleeves. He also wore ripped burgundy pants and black shoes. "Where are you headed to?"

"We're heading to the entrance of the school," Nebula explained. "Nyx wanted us to meet her there."

"You too?" Roy asked. Roy is a dark skin guy with dreadlock cornrows that had gold clasps at the end. He had a green vest that was buckled over a black T-shirt. He wore white pants that were rolled up to his knees and olive canvas sneakers. He also wore fingerless gloves. "We were told to meet her at the entrance as well."

"Hmm," Dew hummed. She then notice someone from team BRNZ was missing. "Where's Brawnz?"

"He said he would meet us there," May said. May was the sniper of team BRWNZ, which the team greatly needed as the guys were mostly melee fighters. She was light skinned with greyish blue eyes and wore a blacked lined beanie that covered her right eye and some of her dusky rose hair, however a few strands of hair did fall. She wore a red and white hoodie and red canvas sneakers. She also wore a black scarf that sat around her neck. "He was the one who sent us the message."

"So what do you think they need us for?" Gwen asked.

"I hope it's a double mission," Roy said. "There's usually a big payout for those."

"Is money ever _not_ on your mind?" Nolan joked.

"Hey I'm just saying, the more money we got the more stuff we are able to get, which means more supplies for our next missions, or more fun stuff for us to do."

May giggles at her team's discussion and this doesn't go unnoticed by them.

"All right miss snipes-a-lot, what do you think it is?" Nolan asked with a smirk. May shrugs.

"I dunno," she started. "But I highly doubt it's a mission, after all we still have people coming back from Vale because of the festival."

"Oh yeah, speaking of the festival," Octavia said. "You guys remember that fraud that was caught faking his way into Beacon?"

"I heard," Nolan said. "I can't believe it was the leader of the team we faced in the festival."

"I can," May said. Everyone looks at her. "Well I mean, he may have been able to survive our match, but that's only because he had the girl with the hammer hit all of us at once."

"And let's not forget," Dew said. "They had Pyrrha Nikos on their team." Everyone could agree having a Mistralian champion did help the team.

"Still to be taken out by a fraud," Nolan said making a fist. "I can't believe that we lost by one."

"Yeah," Octavia said. "You'd think people would figure out he was a fraud by the way he would fight. I mean compared to his team, he was pretty basic." Most of the people laughed at this. The only two he didn't were Roy and Nebula.

Nebula could see where they were coming from, but she felt they were judging him too harshly. She saw their fight and saw how he communicated with his team, used every advantage they had and protected their disadvantages as well. She saw he was a leader, but still, a faker is a faker.

Roy however, saw it from a more logical point of view. He agreed that they were judging him a little harshly. He also saw the tactics he used but he also knew that the headmaster and other teachers obviously had to have known he was a fraud. It was simply impossible to fake your way into something like Beacon and not get kicked out, not unless the teachers and headmaster believed they belonged there.

As the two teams continued to discuss the fraud they eventually reach the stairs to the entrance of the school. They walk up the stairs and slowly see sunlight beam down on them, causing some of them to squint a little. Once they reach the top however, they were met with something that caught them all by surprise.

Headmistress Nyx was talking to someone on the outside. Outside, behind the arced glass doors was Brawnz. Not only that, but a blonde student with a hoodie and armor, wearing jeans, a sword, sneakers, and a mop of blonde hair was there as well. All of them recognized him. The three continued to discuss whatever it was they were discussing, but all of them had slight sweat as the hot sun beamed down on them.

All of the students looked in shock at the scene in front of them. Brawnz and Nyx were talking with the fraud of Beacon. May was the first who broke from her shock. She got a scowl on her face and marched outside. Soon everyone else broke from their shock and followed.

May pushed open the glass doors and marched up to them. All of them heard the door open and turned to May and the others. The blonde fraud had a scared look on his face and took a few steps back but Brawnz put a reassuring hand on his shoulder and a nod. Nyx had a small smile on her face.

"Perfect," Nyx said. "All of you are here."

"What is _he_ doing here?" May said with venom in her voice. She of course pointed to Jaune.

"I am giving Mr. Arc a chance to join our school."

"You're _what_?!" Octavia said. "You… you're… him…" She kept fumbling words.

"You're letting this _fraud_ into our school?" Nolan said. Jaune winced at fraud.

"Maybe you should listen when I talk Mr. Porfirio," Nyx shot back. "I said I am giving him the chance to join us. There is no guarantee."

"So you're giving him an initiation?" Roy asked.

"Precisely." She motioned to everyone present. "And all of you are going to help me with it."

"No," Dew said. "I'm not helping you with this… thing." Jaune could feel his heart stop with every insult they could think of.

"Yeah," May said. "Unless I'm shooting at him, I'm not wasting my precious time helping someone who faked their way into an academy."

"Well that's fine. I don't need all of you to help I'm pretty sure Jaune will do fine with just one person by his side."

"None of us said we were going," Octavia said. "What makes you think one of us is?"

"Because I am," Brawnz said. Everyone turned to the grey gradient haired guy, mouths open with shock. "I'm helping with his initiation." Silence fills the air. That was until May broke it.

"Brawnz, why?" Brawnz takes a deep breath.

"Because I think he deserves to come here."

"Why?!" Octavia shouted. "He is nothing but a faker! He took someone else's spot at Beacon by faking his transcript papers! He doesn't deserve to be a huntsman."

"Well I disagree," Nyx said. This caused everyone to look at the headmistress. "I have done my research on this boy. I would be proud to have him be one of my students."

"That doesn't exactly answer our question," Nolan said. "Why would you be proud to have him as a student?"

"A gut feeling," she said with a shrug. "But obviously you don't care to know why as you won't go with him. Unless of course, you changed your mind?" she stared at all of them for a few seconds. No one moved a muscle. She sighs. "I guess not."

However, as she said that, Roy walked forward. "Brawnz," he started. The leader raised his eyebrow to his teammate, who motioned him to come. Brawnz follows up and Roy whispers in his ear. Brawnz nods his head. Roy then nods his head.

"I'll join," Roy said, causing the rest of team BRNZ to stare aghast yet again. Nyx grew a small smile. Roy and Brawnz walked back over to Jaune and Nyx.

"Anyone else?" Nyx asked.

Nebula bit her lip, but took a deep breath and walked forward. This caused even more shock to spread to the students. Gwen let out a small sigh.

"Well I mean, since Nebula's already over there," She said as she began walking. This caused Jaune, Roy, Brawnz, Nebula, and Gwen to stare at the rest of their teammates. Nolan sighs.

"Fine, I give in," he said. he walks forward.

"Tch, I don't like it," Dew said. "But it's not like I have anything better to do." She walked forward.

Octavia just let out a low growl and walked forward. This lead May to be the only one left. She growls too.

"I am not happy with this," May said as she walked forward.

"Tough tits," Nyx said. "You're going to have to work with people you don't agree with. That's life hun." Nyx then walks forward and turns to the group. "All right, here's his initiation. I will be dropping you all somewhere in the desert nearby. Your job is to find a way back here."

"That's it?" Nolan said. "That doesn't seem so tough."

"Oh yeah, I also forgot to mention something. Nebula and Brawnz." The two leaders looked at her when their names were called. "For the rest of the initiation you are stripped as leaders. Jaune is the only leader."

This caused about two thirds of them to argue. The only ones who didn't were Jaune, Brawnz, and Nebula. Nyx put a hand up and this silenced everyone.

"I do not care about your opinions. Jaune is leader, that's final. Any other questions?"

"When do we start?" Octavia asked.

"Oh…" Nyx looked her watch and walked forward to the group. "I'd say in about… now."

"Now?" Jaune gulped. Nyx smiles and opens her hand palm up and blows something in everyone's faces. They all cough as they try to get whatever it was out of their system. However it is to no avail as soon all of them begin to feel sleepy.

Jaune could feel himself slipping into unconsciousness. However he felt someone hold him up and whisper something in his ear.

"Good luck Mr. Arc. You are going to need it."

With those final words Jaune blacks out.

* * *

Jaune opened his eyes up with a groan. He then shuts them again as he was staring into the sun. He puts his hand out in front of him to block the bright sun and slowly opens his eyes. He sits up and shakes his head slightly. He then smacks his lip and sticks his tongue it in disgust, as he somehow got sand in it. He spits a little out and then finally gets enough strength to stand up.

He looks around him and notices a couple of things. One of them was that he was in the middle of the desert. The other observation was the other students that were with him were also knocked next to him. That meant he had to wake them up as soon as possible.

He ran over to where Brawnz was laying and knelt down beside him. He first started shaking him to wake him up. "Brawnz, wake up!" Jaune yelled. He slightly slapped him in the face which caused Brawnz to moan. He then opened his eyes. Jaune let out a satisfied sigh.

"Jaune?" Brawnz said as he held his head and sat up. "Where are we?"

"Initiation," Jaune said.

"Initiation?" Brawnz repeated he then looked around and saw the same thing Jaune saw. Nothing but desert. He groans. "Great. Well no point in staying here and roasting to death." Jaune helps the dark skin guy up.

"Are you okay? Any nausea, dizziness?" Jaune asked. Brawnz shakes his head no. "Okay, you mind waking up your team? I have to wake up Nebula." Brawnz nodded his headand went over to Nolan and kneeled down next to him. Meanwhile Jaune took a deep breath and went over to the purple haired leader of NDGO.

He kneels down and slowly shakes her. "Nebula?" he asked. He remembered her name from her teams fright with team SSSN. She only responds with a groan so he shakes her a little more violently. Eventually he notices her moving on her own and sets her down gently.

Nebula slowly opened her eyes and saw a black figure standing over her. she blinks the brightness of the sun out of her eyews and it reveals to be Jaune. She slowly sits up and looks around.

"Are you okay?" Jaune questioned. "Nausea, dizziness?" Nebula shakes her head.

"No, I think I'm fine," She responded. "Why are we in the desert?"

"It's my initiation." Nebula could hear that Jaune was blaming himself for them being dragged into the middle of the desert. "Sorry. Would you mind waking up your team? I want to look around some more."

"Why don't you help me?" Jaune scoffs and looks at her.

"They just got hit with sleeping powder, for an initiation for a guy they hate. You really want me to be the first thing they see?" Jaune knew how everyone felt about him. Hell he didn't even know if this girl in front of him would give him a chance.

Brawnz was able to Wake Roy up and helped his friend up. Meanwhile Nebula stood up with the help of Jaune. "Okay," Nebula said. "See if you can find supplies, I highly doubt Headmistress Nyx would put us in the middle of the desert without some supplies."

"Thanks for the tip," Jaune said with a small smile. With that, both of them began to their jobs.

A few minutes later Nebula and Brawnz were able to get all of their teammates awake. Meanwhile Jaune found two bags of gear and was digging in another sand dune.

"What the hell is he doing?" Octavia asked.

"I knew it, he is insane," Nolan said. As Nolan said that. Jaune seemed to be poulling on something. With a final tug Jaune let out a yelp and another bag popped out of the sand as he fell backwards. Brawnz begins walking toward Jaune.

"Or maybe he is seeing if Nyx left us supplies?" He said sarcastically to his team. He continued towards Jaune. He noticed Jaune was checking all three bags at the same time. He was biting part of his pointer finger as he did check.

"So, what do we have?" Brawnz asked as he reached Jaune. Jaune looked to Brawnz, waved, and then pointed to the first bag to his left.

"That one is full of supplies," Jaune said. "Ammo, dust rounds, a couple of grenades, a watch, sleeping bags for all of us, and extra gear. Surprised she was able to stuff all of that in there." The bag was very big but it was stuffed max in order to carry everything like that.

Jaune pointed to the next two and spoke. "These are all food for us. Dried beef, trail mix, soup and a cooker to go with it, canned meat and fruits, beans, and a lot of water. Alone it's enough food to last for about a week."

"And with all of us?"

Jaune was silent for a moment. "About two days, three max if we don't have three full meals a day." Brawnz think about the odds. They had no idea where they were, how far from Shade they were, and had no idea where to start heading.

"The odds aren't that good for us," Brawnz thought aloud.

"No, but I have a theory," Jaune said as he picked up one of the bags. Brawnz picked up the remaining two and they began walking back to the others. "We are either one to three days walk from Shade, or one to three days walk to a checkpoint with more food and supplies."

"All right then. What are you going to tell everyone? What's our plan?" Jaune felt his heart drop for a second.

"Why are you asking me?" he asked nervously.

"You heard Headmistress Nyx, Neb and I have no power, you're the leader here." Jaune gulped. He was able to command a team four when they all liked him, but how was he supposed to lead a group where all of them except for one hate him? "So… what's your plan Jaune?"

 **To be continued.**


	3. Chapter 3

Jaune and Brawnz returned to the group and Brawnz went to his team. He put the two bags he carried down and turned to face Jaune. Jaune gulped as he faced all eight Shade students, all with various forms oflooks on their face. Mostly distrust and anger.

Jaune clears his throat and spoke. "So… uhhh, I guess I'll get the goliath out of the way. I know that not everyone is happy with this arrangement."

"That's an understatement," Gwen mumbled under her breath.

"But right now, like it or not, we are in this situation together. I know for a fact most of you will not agree with what I do. That is understandable given my… history. But once you all get through this you never have to talk to me again." When he said that last part, Brawnz could hear a lot of pain in there. Not that Jaune needed the approval of NDGO and his team, but he needed it to prove to himself.

Brawnz heard self-doubt, self-hatred, it was as if he's already giving up on winning their trust and respect and accepted that… he would be alone throughout all of shade. While Brawnz noticed it, it seemed not everyone had.

"Good," May said. "I don't even want to be associated with you." Jaune's face didn't change but Brawnz knew that hurt. He tried to change the subject.

"So Jaune, mind telling us what's in the bags?" Jaune nodded and pointed to the two food bags.

"Food and water. Enough to last us two days. Three if we ration it."

"Two days?!" Octavia shouted. "Two days?! She doesn't expect us for a day? Our initiation lasted three hours and his takes a two days? This is a waste of time."

"Enough," Brawnz said. This caused both teams and Jaune to look at her. "Like he said, we are in this whether we want to be or not. So stop whining." No one said anything and Brawnz motioned Jaune to continue.

"Anyway, this bag," he pointed to the third one. "Is supplies. Ammo, dust, grenades, a watch, sleeping bags for all of us."

"And now we have to spend the night out here…" Roy stated, there was no harshness in his tone, it was as if he was merely stating a fact.

"Perfect," Dew said rolling her eyes.

"Well, now that we have our gear," Nebula said. "What now?" Everyone looked at Jaune.

"Uhh…" was all that came out of Jaune's mouth. He looked at the ground and began thinking. What could he do to maximize his attempt to reach a location or someplace safe in the fastest way possible?

" _I don't want to start wandering in one direction. Who knows what we will find. But how am I supposed to check all around us? Scrolls are out of service and it's nothing but flat desert out here."_

He doesn't know," Nolan said. "Shocker." This caused Jaune to get out of his thinking state and turn to him. "You know what, I don't care what Miss Nyx says. I'm not going to die out here with someone who doesn't know how to fight being my leader." With that Nolan took one of the food bags and began walking away. However, Nebula spoke up.

"Hey!" she yelled. "Where are you going?" Nolan scoffed and turned to face her while still walking.

"Well, I'm just walking. I'm going to find a mine or something eventually, I just need to keep walking."

"And what about the food?" Nebula pointed to the bag and glared at Nolan. "That's all for yourself?"

"No, but I don't expect my team to follow this dimwit around." He pointed to Jaune which cause the blonde to shrink a little.

"Yeah but your team doesn't need all of that food!" Gwen said. "You have to share with us too!"

"Okay let's just think about this for a second," Roy said.

"Yeah we take the supplies and split food," May said.

"Like hell you do! May, you're the only one who needs ammo!" Dew said.

"Guys calm down!" Brawnz said. However it was to no avail as the arguing increased. That didn't stop him from trying to reason with everyone. As they did argue, they failed to notice the blonde knight. As he watched them argue he just sighed.

" _I knew it,"_ he thought. He goes to one of the food bags, takes out three cans of food, and two bottled waters. He then zips it back up and begins walking away from them. " _Why did I even come here? I knew something like this would happen and I still came here. I truly am insane."_

Jaune kept walking as he heard the arguing continue. That was until he heard Brawnz voice after about two minutes.

"Jaune!" he yelled. The blonde sighs and turns around to see the brown skinned boy running up to him. When Brawnz caught up to him, he panted a little and caught his breath. Jaune noticed that everyone was still arguing. "Where are… you going?" he asked.

"Where everyone wants me," Jaune said bitterly. "Away from them."

"Jaune," Brawnz started but Jaune cut him off.

"No, enough Brawnz! I'm done thinking that I can make it through this! It was a mistake for me to come here. Now if you don't mind, I'd like to survive, die, get eaten, or whatever happens in the next twenty four hours, in peace."

"Jaune you can't let them get to you."

"I'm not going to argue when they are right!"

"Then prove them wrong!" Brawnz shoved Jaune slightly in the chest. "Do what you were doing at Beacon! Train, be smart, do whatever it takes but dammit Jaune! You belong here just like the rest of us!" As the two argued Jaune could see a dust cloud charging towards the other. With about twenty Grimm in front of it. Jaune went wide eyed.

"Brawnz," he said trying to get his attention.

"Don't interrupt me Arc!" Barwnz said. He continued to yell as the dust cloud came closer.

"Brawnz…" Jaune said. This time Brawnz just ignored him and kept arguing. "Brawnz! Grimm!" Jaune pointed to the dust cloud forming with black grimm causing it.

"Oh no," Brawnz said. The two look at each and then sprint towards the others, readying their weapons. Brawnz had his gauntlets hanging at his sides so he took one of them and strapped it to his left and then took the other and strapped it to his right arm. Meanwhile Jaune pulled out his sword and put the sheath into shield mode.

Luckily they were closer to the two teams arguing, but they didn't have a lot of time before the grimm were on them. When they reached them, some of them, like Nolan and Octavia had their weapons drawn.

"Guys enough!" Brawnz said. This got a few of them to look at him but there was still arguing. That's when Jaune stepped in.

"Hey!" Jaune yelled, voice full of authority. This caused all the arguing to stop and look at him, but only for a moment until May spoke up.

"Well look who had the balls to speak up," she said. "What is it blondie boy? Finally found a plan to get us to Shade?"

"Yes I have," Jaune said. He pointed to the dust trail. "And it involves making it out of that grimm horde alive."

Gwen looked to where Jaune was pointing and said "What grimm hor…" Gwen was stunned by what she saw, as were the others. It was a big dust trail lead but what looked to be about twenty some grimm.

"May," Jaune said. "Can you see what type of grimm we have?"

"What do you think I was born yesterday?" May asked. She was already looking down her scope. She mumbled out words as she counted and took note of every grimm. "We have about twenty grimm, possibly more, all beowolves."

"Anything different about the beowolves here than in Vale?" Jaune asked.

"Other than living in the desert, no," Roy said as he took out his saw blades.

"Okay then, spread out. We need at least one person protecting the food and supplies so we don't lose anything."

"How will we lose anything?" Nebula asked.

"We don't want the canned food being crushed and spilling everywhere, we don't want to drop bullets in the sand, and the dust could explode if we aren't careful."

NDGO and BRNZ look at each other. "He isn't wrong…" Gwen said.

"So who's volunteering?" Jaune asked. Nebula raised her hand.

"I can fend them off with my crossbow," she said. "Make sure they don't get too close." Jaune picked up the supply bag and tossed it to her. She caught it and strapped it to her back.

"Okay, anyone else?" Roy raised his hand. Jaune hands him a food bag. When no one else raised their hand he took the last food bag and then strapped it to his back. "All right, spread out! We fight in close quarters with those numbers we're done for!" Despite a few grumbles, everyone did what they were told.

Another minute passes by and they can hear the footsteps approaching of the attacking horde. They finally see the grimm over the sand hill and May, Roy, and Nebula get ready to throw and fire their weapons.

May was the one who took the first shot. She aligned her scope onto a beowolf's head. She then leads her scope a little bit forward and fires. The bullet travels and with her leading, the fall off of the bullet had no effect as it hit the grimm right in the head, through the bone mask.

The beowolf fell causing one or two to fall with it, but they recovered and continued sprinting towards the group of huntsman and huntress. May kept firing, taking down or injuring more of the beowolves. Once they got a little closer, Nebula began firing her crossbow. At the same time Roy began throwing his saws.

"Get ready!" Jaune yelled. The horde was almost upon them, luckily the three of them cut down some of the grimm numbers, if only just a little bit. Finally, with a roar, the horde had reached the group.

Jaune made sure to distance himself from the horde as to not crush and lose any food. Meanwhile Brawnz began attacking a beowolf with his gauntlets. The beowolf swung at Brawnz head but Brawnz duck and uppercutted it in the gut, his claws entering its flesh, causing it to howl in pain. He then rotates his knife part of his weapon and stabs it with both of his hands in the throat.

Another beowolf hopped over it's now dead friend to try and surprise Brawnz, however he kicks the disintegrating beowolf into the leaping one, causing it to fall to the ground. Brawnz then turns to the now fallen beowolf and stabs it in the face and then rips his gauntlet out brutally.

Roy tossed one blade into an oncoming group , causing two to fall to the ground dead. The blade returns to him and he puts his hand on one of the saws and causes it to spin. He then does the same to the other saw. A beowolf charges at him and tries to strike him. However Roy dodges the attack and slides under it. He then goes to the next beowolf and jumps in the air and slams his spinning saws onto the head of it. The squishing noise of the saws entering the flesh can be heard as the beowolf gurgled on its own blood.

Roy then turns to the original beowolf which was about to claw at him. However Roy turned just in time and made his spinning saw blades block the attack. He then sawed the beowolfs arm off. The grimm lets out a roar of pain and Roy spins his blades again as they were slowing down again and then made the saws enter in the stomach. Roy picked up the beowolf as his saws continued to kill the grimm.

Nebula was doing a decent job at keeping the grimm at bay with her cross bow. However she had to switch to her sword form as three beowolfs got closer. Luckily one of her teammates was watching out for her.

Octavia slashed her dagger causing fire to coming out and hitting the leader of the three grimm charge. Nebula looked at her red haired teammate and gave a nod and then turned her sword back into the crossbow and shot the leader in the neck, causing it to die.

Nebula changes her crossbow back to sword form and gets ready for the two beowolves. However to her surprise one of them rushes past her, but skids a little and charges at her again. She then realizes what was going to happen. She quickly unstraps the bag, and tosses it high in the air.

She grips her sword with both hands and then begins spinning quickly. One beowolf was brave, or foolish enough to try to attack Nebula as she spun. Its snout gets sliced causing it to reel back. Nebula stops spinning and catches the bag and straps it to her back again.

Both beowolves were about to attack but two daggers are thrown at them causing them to stop in their tracks. Nebula smiles and attacks. She first stabs the first one in the throat, then drags her sword through the body, turns and upper slashes the other beowolf, cutting both of them in half.

"Thanks Gwen, thanks Oct!" Nebula said to her team. They smile and get back to their own fights.

Dew was fending off three beowolves at once. She stabbed at one with the reach of her spear and then slashed at another that got too close. She gets a cocky smile and uses her dust crystal to make a sand tornado. A beowolf gets sucked up in it and begins flying in the air. She then jumps up and stabs down into the torso of the creature.

While in the air, she turns her body a little and uses gravity and her strength to slam the beowolf down onto another one. As the first beowolf disintegrates, the other one tries to push it off but Dew stabs it in the head. She then swiftly removes her spear, spins it a little and then turns and slashes the last beowolf in the throat.

Nolan began beating a beowolf that was getting too close for comfort. He began smashing the skull with his rod. He then charges his rod with electricity and keeps it pressed on the beowolf. Another beowolf began to go after him so Nolan kicked the electricity filled beowolf into the other one causing both of them to get electrocuted.

Nolan then hops on the two bodies and begins to beat both of them brutally, the sound of bone breaking and can be heard as he hammered away at the beowolves.

Jaune didn't have to deal with a lot of grimm yet. However he heard a growl behind him. He raises his shield just in time for a beowolf to land on it. He then slams his shield down into the ground, causing the beowolf to fall off. He then reverse grips his sword and then stabs it directly in the chest.

Once the beowolf was dead, Jaune took a look around. They still had a lot of beowolves to deal with. He then looks at dew and Gwen and gets an idea. "Gwen!" he yelled.

The black haired girl wasn't fighting any beowolves so she looked at the blonde boy, but with a mild look of annoyance on her face. "What?"

"Can you see if you can get in Dew's tornados? Get in them and then start raining our knives down on the grimm."

Gwen looked at Dew who was still making a couple of tornados and can see where he was coming from. "Hell from above…" she mumbled. She then turned back to Jaune. "What about the others?"

"I'll protect them! The minute you leap into one of her tornados let me know." The black haired girl nods and begins running to her partner. Meanwhile another beowolf was coming for Jaune. It leaps and tries to claw down on him but Jaune blocks it with his shield. He then bashes the shield into the beowolf. It recoils back from the pain but leaps at him again. Jaune ducks down in time, and as the beowolf's midsection is in place he rises up and stabs his sword through it.

He holds the beowolf in the air as it twitches and eventually dies. He then kicks the disintegrating body off of his sword. "Fraud!" he heard Gwen yell. He turns to her to see her giving a nod. He nods back.

"Everyone get behind me!" he yelled.

"Why should we Jaune?" Brawnz said as he beat a beowolf with his claws. Jaune pointed to Gwen who was spinning in one of Dew's tornados which brought her up with it. Everyone realized what she was doing once she reached for all of her knives.

"Run!" Nebula screamed. Everyone stunned the foe they were attacking and then sprinted toward Jaune. They ran behind him and he put his shield up, protecting his upper body and the others as they crouched behind him. He then used his sword to block his leg.

Once Gwen was high in the air, she continued to spin and then started throwing her knives everywhere. She hit the beowolves in their legs, their bodies, some of their heads, which caused a lot of them to be pinned down a little bit. One was charging right for the group but it was pinned with two knives of Gwen's and whimpers in pain.

Gwen stopped spinning and Jaune lowered his shield, looked down at the beowolf and raised his sword high in the air, and then sliced down on its head. The beowolf disintegrated and Jaune pointed his sword to the remaining beowolves. "Let's go! They won't stay pinned forever." With that all of them charged again.

Roy did a couple of arm spins and then released his saw onto a row of beowolves. When all of their heads came off he returned his saw to his bracer. He does a little fist pump and says "Strike!"

May and Nebula kept shooting at any limping or down beowolves. Nolan was electrocuting them, Brawnz was gutting them, and Dew and Jaune were stabbing them. Meanwhile Gwen ran around grabbing all of her knives and slice the throats of the ones still in beowolves.

Eventually the horde was slain and everyone was calming down. Jaune was panting slightly but he looked at everyone. "Great fighting everyone!" he said. "Is everyone okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine," Brawnz answered.

"I'll live," Octavia mumbled. Roy and Nebula nod, Gwen and Dew don't answer, and Nolan and May let their voice be heard.

"Oh yeah we're fine!" Nolan said sarcastically. "Except for the fact that we could've been killed by your plan!"

"Yeah!" May said. "What the hell kind of plan was that?! That could've done more harm than good!"

"Guys," Brawnz said but they ignored him and kept tearing into Jaune.

"If you think that was a good plan, I don't see how you were a leader in Beacon."

"Oh wait," Nolan said. "They made you a leader probably because you said you would make a great one on your forged papers!"

"Speaking of the papers, what else did you fake on there?" Dew said getting into it. "Are you even a natural blonde?"

"What does that…?" Jaune asked but was cut off by more questions.

"Is that even your sword?" Octavia asked.

"Why are you even here?" May asked.

"You should've just stayed in Vale!"

"Guys that's enough!" Nebula said. This surprised everyone. "In case you forgot, we're standing in the middle of the desert. Arguing is going to get us nowhere. In fact I'm pretty sure we were the ones that attracted the grimm towards us. So let's all just calm down, get water and rest, and then head out in about ten minutes all right." Everyone could agree to that. Jaune sets his bag on the ground and opens it and a couple of them grab water bottles and begin drinking it, and then sharing it with their partners or teammates.

Jaune taps on Roy's and Nebula's shoulders to get their attention. He motions them to follow him and they do so. They go just a couple of feet away from the others.

"Are you guys good?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Nebula said.

"Mm hmm," Roy hummed.

"Good," Jaune said. "Mind if I check our supplies for a second?"

"Go ahead," Roy said as he tossed his bag down. Jaune made sure to count everything and make sure they had everything.

"All right, everything's here, and nothing's destroyed." He zips the bags up again and straps them to himself. He then smiles at both of them. "Great job you two." Both Nebula and Roy felt joy as they heard that. It wasn't false praise to make him seem more likable, it was a genuine compliment. "And also you know... thanks for sticking up for me Nebula."

"Nor problem, but try to be a little more forceful, okay?" Jaune Nods and walks away.

Roy and Nebula look at each other as Jaune walked by them to the rest of the group. They then smiled at each other. They both had the same thought. He may be a fraud, but he isn't a bad guy.

 **To be continued.**


	4. Chapter 4

Once everyone was rested and watered up, they double checked to make sure they had all of their supplies. Once they knew they had everything, they decided to discuss where to go.

"So where do we go from here?" Octavia asked.

"I say we just we go to one direction and stick to it," Nolan suggested.

"Obviously," Roy said playfully pushing Nolan. "But the question is which direction do we head?"

"Well I say we head north," Gwen said. "I think I woke up at one point during the ride here and heard them say something about putting us south of Shade."

"Well it's something to go by," Brawnz said. "But what if we're wrong?"

"If we're wrong, we'll at least find some kind of town or mining camp right?" May asked.

"Yeah, then we should be able to know where we are," Dew said.

"Might even have a map for us," Nebula said. However as they all discussed about going north, Jaune had the compass out and was looking from where the grimm came from. It was pointing west. He closes the compass and heads back to everyone.

"So we all agree that we are heading north?" Nebula confirmed.

"Actually I think we should head west," Jaune said as he got to the group. Unsurprisingly, this got him scowls and frowns.

"Why should we?" Nolan asked.

"The grimm came from the west." Jaune pointed to the grimm tracks as he said that. "That's where I want to go."

"Okay 'leader'," Dew said with air quotes. "Why should we go where the grimm came from?"

"Grimm are attracted to negative emotions right?" everyone nodded. "Well animals can also feel negative emotions, and where there are animals, there is usually shade and water nearby." a couple of the students nodded in agreement. "Of course, there is the chance that they were attracted to humans as well."

It took a minute for people to realize what he meant. But they knew he was right. Either way, it would either be a survivable hole, or a landmark or settlement they recognize and can get directions from.

"Any objections?" Brawnz asked around. Surprisingly, no one voiced their opinions. "All right then." Branwz turns to Jaune. "You lead the way." Jaune gulped but nodded his head. He strapped on all three bags and began walking, following the grimm tracks, with the two teams following behind him. He looked at the horizon to see that it was dusk. Which meant if they walked for about an hour or two, it would be night, perfect conditions for traveling the desert.

 **One Hour later:**

While it had gotten a lot cooler, the sun was still up. From the tracks it seemed they were getting nowhere but Jaune felt like they were close. However he could tell everyone was getting exhausted from walking for the past hour, despite everyone being quiet.

He knew most of them wanted to voice their opinions about him about how what they are doing is a terrible plan. Honestly he knew the risks of following a grimm trail. But he felt the reward would be worth it. He stops and sets the three bags down, grateful having the heavy burden off his shoulders.

"Let's rest here until the sun goes down," Jaune suggested. All of them sigh with relief and gain small smiles.

"Best plan he's had all day," Octavia whispered to Dew. The two girls giggle, which doesn't go unnoticed. Brawnz was going to chew them out but he saw Jaune shaking his head no at him. Brawnz wanted to protest but sucked it up and nodded his head. Jaune then takes out his sword and flips it so his handle goes into the sheathe. He then takes a piece of rope from the supply bag and ties it sword his sword to keep it in place.

"What are you doing?" Roy asked.

"I'm trying to make shade," Jaune said. He flips his sword and stabs it into the ground deep enough to have it stay still, but also shallow enough so that the sword stood decently tall.

He looks around at everyone and then points to Dew. "Excuse me, Dew?" the blonde girl glared at Jaune. "Can I see your spear for a second?"

"Why do you need my spear?" She asked.

"I need two long supports to hang the sleeping bags to make a tiny shade spot." Dew could see what he was doing and it made sense. She tosses the spear to him and he plants it into the ground about ten feet away from his sword. He then takes out some more rope, two sleeping bags and begins setting up the shade spot. Meanwhile, no one was helping him and they were all relaxing and drinking water.

Brawnz walked over to Roy and handed him a water bottle and they both sat down. "Brawnz," Roy said after he was done taking a drink. "You trust this guy, right?"

"Almost as much as I would trust you guys," Branwz said. Roy looked down in the sand, a small feeling of guilt came to him. He looked over to the blonde to see him struggling to put up the makeshift shade. He hands his water bottle to his leader and walks over to Jaune. Brawnz gains a small smile. This was the start of his friends starting to trust Jaune.

Roy walked over to Jaune and helped lift up the sleeping bags. He already unzipped them, now he just needed to tie them to the two poles and each other. Jaune turns surprised and sees the dark skinned student nodding to him. "Need a hand?" he asked.

"Yeah, thanks," Jaune answered back. He began tying the sleeping bag to his sword's sheathe. As he did so, he made small talk. "So how do your saws come back to you?" Roy looked at Jaune with interest. Not a lot of people asked about his weapons, they thought seeing as it was simple.

"Well, I have a small lining of gravity dust inside the middle of the hole of the saw. I then have another attached to my wrist guard. When I activate it, the two dusts connect to each other and then the gravity dust pulls the saw back to me." Jaune let out an impressed chuckle.

"Wow, I mean you obviously had to go through a couple of prototypes before perfecting it right?"

"And a couple of visits to the infirmary." The two let out a chuckle. Jaune was done tying the knot on his sword and began tying the sleeping bag to Dew's spear. "What about your weapon?" Jaune looked shocked. He then pointed to him with an "are-you-serious" look on his face. He then laughs.

"What's to tell? It was my family's sword from generations ago. It was passed down to me. That's pretty much it. No new stuff no nothing."

"And now you are using it as a support pole." Roy and Jaune look a his sword and then look at each other.

"It's my sword I can do whatever I want with it." the two share a laugh again. They finish setting up the shade spot and they let out a satisfy grunt.

"All right, all done," Roy said.

"Yep," Jaune said. he is silent for a moment and then turns to Roy. "Hey, thanks for the help, I appreciate it." Roy waves his hand off.

"No problem." He is silent for a second and then speaks again. "Give everyone some time. I'm sure you'll grow on them." Jaune looked at Roy, a little stunned by what Roy said. But he then smiles at him.

"Thanks. It means a lot that someone other than Brawnz said that to me." Roy nodded his head. However the small moment was ruined by Nolan shouting.

"Hey, is the shade up or are you just doing nothing?!" Jaune sighs. Roy could tell he was annoyed, maybe even angry. But Jaune sucked whatever emotion he could and just answered back.

"Yeah it's up!"

"About time!" Gwen said. Everyone started to head over there and noticed the small shade spot. It looked like it could only shade two people possible three.

"What the hell is this?" Dew asked annoyed. "This is all you have?" Jaune is silent.

"I can't believe it, this was a waste of time," Gwen said. Brawnz again was going to do something, but Roy beat him to it.

"Hey,' the saw user started. "If you don't want I'll gladly sit in it." He then motioned for Brawnz to hand him his water bottle. Brawnz nods and tosses the water bottle to Ry. Roy uncaps it and then sits down under the homemade shade spot. He took a big gulp and wiped away any sweat. A full minute passed of everyone looking at Roy. Well everyone, except Jaune. Jaune just left them to deal with it themselves. He tried to find the softest spot on the ground and sat down there waiting for the sun to go down.

"I call next five minutes," Nolan said.

"Hey I deserve the next five minutes!" Dew argued "It has my weapon supporting it."

Jaune could hear them bicker and grew a small smile. Granted they still think it's a horrible idea, but at least they'll use it. It's something, right?

 **Thirty minutes later:**

Orange filled the sky as it slowly turned darker and darker. Jaune was sweating buckets, but he had a bottle of water to keep him hydrated. He continued to stare out into the distant, hoping that there may be some sign of life beyond all of that sand. He didn't care if it was grimm people or animals, some sign that there was shade or water nearby.

He heard the sound of footsteps on sand closing in on him. He then noticed something was thrown to his side. He looked at it and saw it was another water bottle. The footsteps stop and he hears someone grunt as they sat down next to his side. When he saw grey in his peripheral he knew who it was.

"You should drink up, you're bottles almost empty," Brawnz said concerned.

"Has everyone else gotten one?" Jaune asked. Brawnz let's out a chuckle.

"Yeah they have." There is silence for a while but Brawnz speaks again. "Despite them hating you, you still care about them don't you?" This time it was Jaune's turn to chuckle.

"Like it or not all of us are in this together. No point in making it any harder than it already is." Jaune had his goofy grin on his face. Brawnz smiled and put Jaune in a chokehold.

"There it is!" Brawnz said as he choked Jaune. "The Jaune goofy grin! I remember when I first saw it, you really pissed me off when you had it."

"Brawnz, you're choking me!" Jaune choked out. Brawnz lets go of Jaune, who let's in a big gulp of air. They look at each other for a second and then laugh. "I actually remember the first time you saw it too. You wanted to bash my face in."

"Yeah, I did." The two reminisce on how they first met outside of the battlefield, the first time Jaune had his goofy grin plastered on his face.

 **An hour after JNPR and BRNZ match:**

Brawnz was travelling around the fairgrounds looking for something to eat. He would usually eat with his team after a match but he was too angry and didn't want to snap at them by accident. To lose by a single blow of the hammer. Just thinking about it made his blood boil.

He heard laughing and looked up and saw the same leader of the team that won. He had a grin on his face as he saw a couple of girls from Haven fawn over him. He just waved them off and they left. However one of them blew a kiss to him and he turned red and scratched the back of his head. Brawnz made his hands into fists. He then began to walk to the blonde boy.

"Hey!" Brawnz yelled. Jaune looked over to him with a confused look on his face. "You think that just because you had someone do all of the work you think you're all that now?" Jaune put his hands up and had a slightly scare dlook on his face.

"No!" Jaune said. "I don't think that at all!" Brawnz stopped until he was about two feet away from Jaune.

"Really? Then what was with the smug grin?"

"I was just happy someone gave me a compliment! Look I know when I sicced Nora on you and your team it was a cheap move." Brawnz's grip lessened a little bit. "Listen, why don't I buy you something to eat? I mean I feel bad for using a cheap tactic to win." This time Jaune had a half smile on his face while scratching the back of his head. There was something about him that made Brawnz relax. That and he was getting a free meal so he can't complain.

"Brawnz Ni." The tanned grey haired leader reached out his hand and Jaune shook it.

"Jaune Arc."

A few minutes later they were at the noodle shop that JNPR ate at before the match. Brawnz was downing a gigantic bowl of noodles and Jaune just watched with awe.

"And I thought Nora had a big appetite…" Jaune commented.

"Shut up," Brawnz said with a mouth full of noodles. He slurps and then swallows with a big smile on his face. "Okay, so would mind telling me why you and your team were talking in the middle of our match?"

"We… mixed up our combined attack names…"

"Wait what?!" Brawnz asked with an amused smile. "You have got to be kidding me! How do you mix them up?"

"I don't know!" Jaune said with mild amusement. "So we spent the time trying to figure it out! Than when you yelled at us I just figured we should have ended it as quick as possible without embarrassing ourselves further." Brawnz laugh. Jaune laughs along with him. Brawnz takes another mouthful of food and swallows.

"Look, I was hard on you," Brawnz said. "I know it's a fight and you have to use every advantage you can get, even ones that don't seem fair. I guess I was just too angry and embarrassed by the loss to think thoroughly."

"It's fine, I wouldn't blame you." The two smiled and continued their conversation talking about various things.

 **In present day:**

The two reminisce about how their first outside of battle meeting went. "I am so glad you didn't kick my butt that day," Jaune said after taking a swig from the water bottle.

"Nah, but I'm going to kick your butt in combat class when you're enrolled," Brawnz said slapping Jaune's back. Jaune looks at the ground, thinking very hard.

"You really think I'll be accepted?" Brawnz sighed.

"Jaune, not this again."

"Brawnz I'm a fake. I'm glad you believe in me but… even if I pass this, who's to say I will survive in the school?"

Brawnz frowned. He invited Jaune to this school because he knows of Jaune's skills. But having him whine about every five minutes was starting to annoy Brawnz. He has tried everything he can to help Jaune.

That's when he realized the problem. It seemed like only Brawnz was supporting him. His family practically dismissed him. His friends weren't really his friends and he cut off all ties with his team. Jaune was alone. And only Brawnz was helping. Brawnz right now was Jaune's only friend.

And Brawnz knew Jaune needed more positive reinforcement. He looked over to the makeshift shade and saw Roy was standing around with a water bottle in his hand, with Dew and May sitting under the shade. Everyone else was standing around chatting.

Brawnz stands up and stretches. "Jaune I know you will survive this school. You just have to believe yourself." With that Brawnz walks away. Jaune sighs and continues looking out to the desert.

A few minutes pass and Jaune hears footsteps approaching again. "Are you going to try and cheer me up again Brawnz?"

"Well you got half of that right," a voice not belonging to Brawnz said. Jaune turns around to see Roy standing next to him with his arms crossed.

"Oh! Sorry Roy." The dark skinned teen laughs.

"It's fine. Mind if I sit?" Jaune nodded and motioned for him to sit. Roy follows and sits with his legs crossed. "So, still having doubts?"

"Of course I am," Jaune answered. "I already told you the 'I'm a fraud' spiel." Roy chuckles.

"That's true. But why do you still doubt yourself? You're already out here fighting to still become a hunter. So why the self-doubt?"

Jaune looked to the ground again. "I'm alone this time…" Jaune said.

"Alone?"

"Yeah, alone. Back at Beacon I had a friend to help me through the first day and then I had my team's help throughout the rest of the year. But now? Now it's just me."

"And Brawnz and me." There is silence for a few seconds before Jaune looks at Roy.

"What?" he asked.

"You forgot about Brawnz and me. We'll help you." Again silence for a few seconds. "Of course, you'll have to want our help." Jaune frowned.

"Why would you help me? I thought you said I didn't belong here? Just like the rest of them…" Jaune said the last part sadly, which caused Roy to get a little angery.

"We say you don't belong here because you act like you don't." Jaune was taken aback but what Roy said and turned to him again. Roy had a stern expression on his face. "Despite being exposed as a fraud you are here and doing your best. Fucking act like you belong here." Roy stands up and walks away. However he turns over his shoulder to Jaune again. "Maybe when you do, getting everyone to trust you will be easier." He said a softer voice. He then continues to the others.

Jaune looked at Roy walk away and then looked at the ground. He looks at his open hand. "Act like I belong?" he mumbled. He makes a fist, cracking his knuckles in the process. "They're right. I need to act like I belong here." Jaune then gains a confident smile. "I do belong here. Now it's time to prove that I do."

 **To be continued.**


	5. Chapter 5

BRNZ and NDGO were talking with each other, with Nebula and Gwen under the makeshift shade spot. They were enjoying not being in the sun but their dreams were soon crushed. Jaune walked up to the group and grabbed the three bags.

"All right guys, it's time we keep moving," he said.

"Already?' Brawnz asked.

"Yeah I want to travel mostly through the night." The group exchanged looks.

"Why?" Nebula asked. Jaune opened his arms in the "look around you" sort of way.

"You don't feel the difference?" he asked. All of them stand around waiting for something but don't feel much of a difference.

"What are you getting at?" Dew asked annoyed.

"It's cooler at night," Jaune said. "We'll be able to cover more ground without suffering heat stroke." More than half the group had skeptical looks on their faces until Jaune spoke again. "Hey if you don't want to go that's fine. I won't force you guys, but I might just continue without you."

Gwen scoffs and said "You wouldn't leave us. You won't last three seconds out here."

"I'm the one with the three bags of supplies," Jaune said. His voice went deeper. "You really want to take that chance?" Everyone looked Jaune in the eye. He had a look that said he wasn't lying. Roy was mildly impressed, Jaune took his advice.

When no one answered Jaune went back to his normal self. "All right, let's get going," He said as he clapped his hands. With that they continued on their way to the general direction of the Grimm tracks.

 **Thirty minutes later:**

The night air cooled them a little but all of them were still sweating up a storm. Not only that, due to some wind the tracks were lost. So now they were just wandering.

"This is pointless," Nolan said. "We already lost the tracks, what's the point of continuing?"

"Hey, if you want to go back be my guest," Roy retorted. "Otherwise shut it and keep moving."

"Well I'm not going to keep following the blonde fraud," Dew said. If Jaune heard the insult he showed no signs that he did. "He's going to get us killed."

"Well not like we have much of a choice," May said. "He has all of the supplies."

"Well… we can just take them from him," Octavia. Everyone looked at her, "He wouldn't be that much of a challenge."

"Octavia are you insane?!" Nebula said. "What is wrong with you guys?"

"I'm with Neb," Brawnz agreed. "What the hell did he do to you guys personally?"

Unfortunately they wouldn't get an answer. They were all busy talking they didn't notice Jaune stopped and they ran into him. No one fell over and everyone regained their balance fairly quickly.

Gwen moves up to him and asks "What the heck? Why'd you sto…" she was interrupted by what she saw.

Ashes covered the remains of a small encampment. Tents and tools that weren't burnt down were slashed or destroyed. Bodies lay strewn around the camp. Blood, though hard to see from the distance, still stained parts of the ground.

"Oh no…" Nolan said.

"Check for survivors," Jaune said. He went down the hill and continued into the camp. Teams BRNZ and NDGO look at each other and soon follow.

As Jaune approached the encampment, the smell of fire and blood began to fill his nose. It was not a pleasant smell. As he reached the edge of the town he stopped. It wasn't a pretty sight. He could still see fear in some of the corpses eyes.

"Keep your wits about you boy," a voice echoed. "I don't think the grimm have left yet."

Jaune nodded but then looked around for the voice. When he realized that it didn't come from anywhere he figured it was just his heads playing tricks on him.

The two teams catch up to him. He takes off two of the bags and turns to them. "I need two volunteers to hold the bags," He said. May was about to open her mouth but Jaune beat her to it. "If you're going to ask why it's because I feel the grimm are still here and if I get ambushed with all three bags our supplies are done for."

"I'll take one," Brawnz said. He picks up a food bag and straps it around him.

"Anyone else?" Nebula raises her hand. "You want to carry the bag again? Could be another fight."

"What, think she can't handle it?" Octavia asked.

"I didn't…" Jaune sighs. He unstraps the other food bag and hands it to Nebula. She straps it and Jaune issues commands. "Priority one: survivors. If you find any signs of them, see if you can help them. Priority two: supplies. Priority three: Base of Operations. We may have to hole up here for a while. Find something that provides shade, cover and a vantage point. Any questions?"

No one says anything, shocked by the new Jaune. To see him take command despite the obvious distrust was something they were not expecting. When no one says anything Jaune nods. "All right, move out, stay with someone at all times." And with that the students split into teams.

 **Fifteen minutes later:**

All of them stayed within eye sight of each other or had a partner next to them in case of any grimm. Other than a beowolf lurking in the shadows, which Nolan and May killed, there wasn't much activity.

"Hey, can someone watch my back?" Jaune called out. He was looking inside a tent but didn't enter it. "I want to see if there's any supplies in here."

Nebula, Roy, and Dew were next to each other searching for stuff, and trying not to throw up from the corpses they were searching. However they heard Jaune's call and Nebula spoke up. "Dew, go watch Jaune's back."

"What?" The blonde said aghast. "Why me?"

"Because I said so, move."

Dew grumbled but followed her team leaders order and went to Jaune. He was still looking in the tent and had his sword out but his shield was still in sheath form. He hears Dew approach and speaks.

"Hey, Dew right?" he asked.

"Yes," She growled. Jaune noticed the hostility.

"All right, thanks for having my back."

"Whatever." Jaune sighs and enters the tent, with Dew behind him.

When they entered the tent and their eyes adjusted, they were horrified by what they saw. Desks were turned over, bodies were everywhere along with blood. One body was pinned to a table as her body was stabbed through with a broken table leg. The entire scene made both blondes want to vomit. However they swallow it and began looking around.

"Something doesn't feel right…" a voice echoed in Jaune's head. "Check every corner." Again, Jaune looked around to se if it was Dew talking to him but she avoided eye contact with him. He shakes his head and continues searching.

There were obviously no survivors, but there had to be a few dust crystals lying around. Jaune wanted to see if Dew would talk, but he didn't know what to talk about or even if she would respond. So after a while he just asked the obvious question. "Find anything yet?"

"No," She said quickly.

"Me either." However he saw a suitcase lying around a desk and reached for it. "Hang on, think I found something." He took it out and opened it to reveal a couple of pure dust crystals. He chuckles and starts putting them in the supply bag.

As he put the last one away, he heard a growl come from his right. An animalistic growl. He turns to his right and sees a large round bone mask with red eyes staring back at him.

Dew was walking up to see what he got but he quickly throws the bag at her and pushes her out of the way. "Hey!" she screamed. "What the hell―" She was cut off by a roar and the sound of large feet charging. She sees Jaune facing where the roar came from and the creature seemed to have rammed into Jaune. So much so that it rammed through the tent causing a hole to rip with Jaune yelling as he got carried away. It only took Dew a second to realize what they were fighting.

"Charger!" Dew yelled as she ran out of the tent. Everyone stopped searching and looked to where she was coming out of. "Jaune got grabbed by a charger!"

"We heard the roar," Roy said. "We thought it was another beowolf, where'd they go?"

"Follow me!" As Dew leads them to where the charger was, Jaune had his own problems.

The charger was moving so fast that he couldn't break away from its arm. He remembers what a charger was from Port's Grimm studies.

A Charger was a grimm made mostly of the bone the grimm had. It had a circular rock like body, and a giant face on the middle of it, with the typical grimm mask. It only has one arm but it was very powerful and fast. Due to these two deadly combinations the charger, hence its name, would charge into its opponents crushing them. If it didn't kill them with the initial crush it would then proceed to beat said victim, either by throwing them around or punching them.

Jaune was cut out of his thoughts when he felt his back ram into something. Luckily he used his aura to protect himself, but it still had to take a toll on it. Jaune falls to the ground but the charge picked him back up and slammed him head first against the same thing his back rammed into. Jaune opened his eyes a little and saw that he was being thrown into a machine used for collecting dust. However he was once again stripped away from his thoughts as the charger picked him up again.

This time the charger swung its arm with Jaune in it and slammed him into the ground. Jaune coughed as he got slammed. A little bit of blood came up from his throat. He can't keep getting pounded like this. The charger picked up its arm and was about to hammer down on Jaune but Jaune was able to reach for his shield and block it a little bit.

However, as he blocked it, he heard a crunching noise. The charger kept applying pressure and another crunching noise was heard. Jaune could have sworn he heard the creature laughing but then he heard it grunt. It turned around and Jaune looked to see BRNZ and NDGO yelling at the charger.

"Let him go you ugly bastard!" Brawnz yelled. Nebula aimed an arrow and shot it at the charger. However it moved its arm to block the shot. It then roars and picks up Jaune again. It tosses him away from BRNZ and NDGO and into a sandstone formation. The charger then faces the two teams.

"We have to get Jaune!" Brawnz commanded.

"How?" Roy asked.

"You guys distract it," Dew said. "I'll find a way to get the idiot." Everyone nods and tries to find ways to keep it busy.

May looked around for a vantage point. She saw a machine that was decently far away. "Brawnz!" she called. Brawnz looked at his teammate and she pointed to the vantage point. He nods and turns his blades forward. He aims them a little and then presses a button on his guantlets. His right knife fires with a small rope connected to it.

May hops on the rope as Brawnz keeps it rigid. May travels quickly on the rope, while maintaining her balance. Being a sniper, May learned how to get to as many sniper points as she could. From tightrope walking, to tree climbing, even camouflage, give her enough time she'll find a spot.

She reached the top of the machine and sat down crossed leg. Brawnz saw that she was set and retracted the rope. Meanwhile everyone was still trying to find ways to distract the charger. May began pelting some weak points in between the bone armor of the creature. Nebula kept shooting arrows, Roy kept throwing his saw blades, everyone else would yell and keep it distracted.

Meanwhile Dew was circling around the charger, keeping out of its sight as much as it can. With the giant head it can see things at a pretty wide angle. She stayed behind cover, and made sure to move as quickly as she could.

She reached Jaune who was groaning in pain. "You okay idiot?" Dew asked with genuine concern.

"What's with the nickname?" Jaune groaned weakly. Dew wasn't really expecting an answer. Most people attacked by a charger were lucky to be conscious, she only asked herself to see what kinds of wounds he had. This guy could take a beating.

"Well only an idiot would take a charger attack and not dodge it. I could've helped you stop it from charging." She checked for any wounds on the body. A little bit of blood was running from the top of his head, and a couple of bruises where there. "Don't talk and don't move, I'm gonna drag you out of here."

She grabs him by the armpits, but that was a terrible mistake. He lets out a cry of pain. It was enough for the charger to hear. "What's wrong? Dew asked.

"My arm!"

She was going to ask what was wrong with it but heard the roar of the charger. She turns and sees it ready to charge them, ignoring the rest of her team and team BRNZ. She gently lets go of Jaune and points her spear at the charger. She runs towards it, charging her wind dust crystal. She then slashes at the charger, causing a huge wind. The dust gets in the grimms eye, causing it to stop in place.

This gave Dew enough time to drag Jaune behind a couple of tents. She put a hand over his mouth as he screamed in pain so it was muffled. The charger roared and charged into the sandstone formation blind hoping to hit the two students. Running into the formation caused it to shake a few stones loose.

The teams continue attacking the charger, making its focus on them again. With Jaune and Dew behind the tents, she can get to work. "Okay, let's see what's wrong with your arm," She said. She slowly tried to remove the shield. Jaune let out slight moans of pain as she did.

When she finally got it off, she saw his arm. It was broken pretty badly. Part of his bone was sticking out. Not to mention it was broken in another spot too. She was going to have to work fast.

She takes a deep breath and puts her hands together. She concentrates her semblance into her palms. She places them against Jaune's arm and she exhales. Jaune could feel instant relief in his arms. He looked at it and sees the bone slowly going back into place. Dew grabs his broken areas and snaps them back into place, but with her semblance, he didn't feel a thing.

She then moves onto the rest of Jaune's body. She places her hands around his head to and the cut was patching itself up, and Jaune's grogginess was slowly going away. She then placed it on his chest, and made it easier for him to breathe again. She then placed her hands around his legs and his numbness quickly went away from them.

He leans up a little bit and groans a little. This surprise Dew a lot. He looks at her and asks "What?"

"Nothing it's just…" She started. "I didn't expect you to be able to move already."

"Why's that?" They hear the charger roar and are cut off from their conversation.

"I'll explain later, come on!" She helps Jaune up and though he was still weak and needed support to move around. She lifted Jaune up and she put an arm around him and he did the same to her. they move from cover to cover, keeping out of the sight of the charger.

Eventually they reached the rest of the group. Roy was the first to notice them. He goes over to them and helps Dew support Jaune. "By the gods man," Roy said. "You heal quickly."

"Dew reacted the same way," Jaune chuckled.

"Shut it idiot," Dew said with a slight blush. They leaned him against a pole of a tent and Roy stayed to protect him while Dew joined the battle. Jaune looked around the battle field. Other than the machine he was thrown into, the sandstone formation, and a couple of tents, there wasn't much going on.

Jaune heard the sniper shot of May and turned to his left. He looks up another machine and sees her sitting there targeting the charger. "Roy…" he called out.

"What is it?" Roy asked.

"How did she get up there?" Jaune pointed to May.

"She ran on Brawnz grapple." Jaune's eyes widen in surprise.

"Brawnz has a grapple?" Roy nods his head. Jaune looks at his surroundings again and then gets an idea. "Roy, I need you to get Nebula and Brawnz, along with two grenades from the supply bags."

"Why?"

"You'll see."

With the fight with the charger, it was still a bit of a draw. The charger was on the defensive but it could go on the offensive at any moment. The two teams kept their distance as the ranged students tried to kill it but they knew they had to do something. A couple of times they tried to advance the charger but they often got swatted away.

This time, Octavia and Nolan decided to try their luck again and fight at close range. Octavia slashed some fire into the chargers face, causing it to cover its face for protection. It uncovered its face only to reveal Nolan jumping on it. Nolan turns his electricity on his baton on and stabs the chargers eye.

It lets out a roar of pain and grabs Nolan. It squeezes him causing Nolan to yell. He heard Octavia let out a war cry and saw her with its good eye. It tosses Nolan at Octavia causing the two of them to collide and get sent flying back.

"Be careful you guys!" Nebula yelled out. Unbeknownst to them or the charger, Gwen was sneaking around the left side of it. It was preoccupied with the rest of them to notice her and she took her chance. She threw three knives at it. That caused it to groan in pain and she charged. She climbed the sandstone formation, using her knives as climbing axes, and when she was high enough she jumped down and was going to stab the charger.

However it noticed her when she threw the knives and saw her climb. It picked her out of midair and then slammed her into the ground. It kept applying pressure to her causing her to scream in agony. However, May shot it right in the eye where Nolan stabbed it, causing it to let go of her.

Branwz then shot his grapple knife toward her. She grabbed it and he reeled her back over to them. Brawnz helps her up and they all face the charger again.

"We can't keep doing hits and runs!" Gwen said. "It'll wear us down eventually."

"We don't have to!" Roy said running up to them. "Nebula, Brawnz, I need you to come with me."

"Why?" The two team leaders said.

"Jaune's got an idea." The two off them look at each other and nod their heads. They then go to Gwen, who still had the supplies bag on her. "Gwen, can you get me two grenades?"

"On it," She said. she made sure the Charger was busy fighting someone else, who happened to be Nolan at the moment, and took out two grenades. She hands them to Roy and she slides the bag away from the battle so it doesn't drop anything. The two leaders follow Roy back to Jaune, who was surprisingly already back to work.

He was cutting up parts of the tent he was leaning on. He had two large square cloths and two smaller rectangular cloths. "Jaune what are you doing?" Brawnz asked.

Jaune looked up and saw everything and everyone he asked for. "Give me the two grenades and I'll explain along the way," Jaune said.

Roy handed him the grenades and Jaune started to tie the grenades inside the big square cloth. "Nebula," he said as he tied. "What I need you to do is… when I'm done tying these grenades…" He tied the smaller rectangular one so that the bigger cloth wouldn't slip. He then moves onto the next grenade. "You need to pin them in two spots: One on charger, another on the sandstone formation."

"You mean I have to shoot them before they explode in my face?!" She asked concerned.

"No. You just have to pin them there. May will shoot them." He finished with both grenades and hands them to Nebula, who takes them. May's sniper shot sounded and Jaune continues discussing his plan. "Brawnz, she won't listen to me, but she will listen to you. You need to let her know about the grenades. If she's a good shot she'll find where Nebula pinned them."

"Is that all?" Brawnz asked.

"No. You're going to shoot your knife grapples into the sandstone formation, when it's been weakened by the explosion, you're going to pull it down on the charger. IF that doesn't kill it, the explosion on the grimm will cause a break in its armor, that's where all of you attack until it is dead."

All of them look at each other, it was a crazy plan, but it just might work. "You got it, Jaune." Brawnz said.

"We'll do it," Nebula said. With that all of them go back to the charger with a plan in mind.

Brawnz calls up to May as he reaches her sniping point. "MAY!" The sniper takes another shot and then looks down. "Neb's going to pin a couple of grenades to the sandstone and the charger! When you see them and everyone's out of range, take the shot!"

"You got it!" May called out. She continued sniping and Brawnz went to the others.

Nebula got into position and stabbed an arrow through the first cloth. She made sure it was on her arrow securely and then aimed at the sandstone. She fired and it placed right in the middle of it. She smile sand puts on the other grenade. Now for the hard part.

The arm kept blocking a good shot for her to pin on the grimms head. "Girls, get me a clear shot on the head!" Nebula called out.

"On it!" Gwen and Octavia called out. Dew nodded and the girls began running toward the charger. It roared at them as they charged. Dew blew a huge dust of wind this time at it, causing it to move backward. Gwen equips a knife in both of her hands and Octavia got her sword ready.

"I'll go high," Gwen said. Octavia nodded and they sprang into action. Gwen jumps high in the air, but this time instead of trying to stab downward, she threw her knives onto the things back. it roars and lifts its arm up and Octavia slashes fire to the inside of the arm. This causes it to recoil back, giving a nice open shot for Nebula.

She pulls the trigger and the grenade lands right in between the grimm's eyes. May saw both grenades and fires at the one on the grimm first. Gwen and Octavia got out of the way as the grenade on the grimm exploded. May then aims at the one on the sandstone and fires. That grenade explodes and even did a little more damage to the charger. It roars in pain and then Brawnz does his part.

He aims his knives at the upper part of the cliff and shoots the grapples. When they latch on, he tightens and locks the grapple. He begins backing up as he pulls down the rest of the sandstone. It lands on top of the charger and it lets out a cry.

When the dust settles everyone looks at the charger, now buried under rubble. However part of its head was still out along with its arm, but it was immobilized. Everyone sans Jaune slowly approach it and it makes a wide swing, but hits no one. It growls and struggles but can't get up. The explosion that the grenade caused however made a small crack in the bone and made its way into the black flesh. It was wide enough that everyone could see it.

Nolan and Octavia climb on the rubble to get away from the chargers arm. They slowly approach the flesh hole and look at each other and nod. Nolan charges his rod with electricity, and Octavia surrounds her knife with fire. They both stab the flesh hole and the charger lets out a cry of pain, and eventually, lets out a death rattle.

The body starts to dissipate and the two students hop off. Once they hear the thud of the rubble shifting, they all let out sighs of relief. Roy lets out a whoop and falls to his back. Everyone was just in a general good mood. They defeated a charger with little injuries.

As everyone was celebrating, Dew holstered her spear and walked over to where Jaune was sitting. He had a big goofy grin on his face. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes and muttered to himself. "Holy crap… we did it."

"So that was your plan?' Dew asked with her hands on her hips. Jaune looks at her, still with the big goofy grin on his face. At first glance it could seem arrogant, but from the close up he was just happy that everything went fine.

"Yeah but, you guys definitely pulled it off. You would've done fine without me." Dew couldn't help but smile. Not only was his grin infectious, he was also humble. They would've been trying to beat that thing with strength alone, but he saw opportunities and seized them.

"All right, well let's get you patched up as best we can and see if we're spending the night here." Jaune nodded his head.

 **A few hours later:**

While Jaune did heal quickly, Dew, along with Brawnz thought it would be a good idea for him to rest for the night. So after clearing all grimm, and scrounging every tent, they were able to get a decent amount of food and supplies.

As everyone besides Jaune sat by a small fire they made, Jaune was just relaxing and watching them from afar. He didn't want to ruin their good time by being there. However, much to his surprise, he saw Dew walk over, with a plate of food.

"Here," She said as she handed him the plate. He gratefully took it. All it was was some canned meat with some rice they found, but it was better than nothing. Jaune began eating and Dew sat down next to him. She lets Jaune eat for a minute and then speaks. "Hey, I wanted to say I'm sorry."

"For what?" Jaune asked.

"For being a bit of a… well a bitch to you." She hears Jaune let out a chuckle.

"Not like you didn't have the right to be. I lied my way to Beacon, and then stayed there."

"But you proved yourself to them… and now you proved yourself to me." She smiled lightly and he smiled back. However she then punches him in the arm causing him to groan in pain. "Don't think I'm not going to call you an idiot, because you still are one."

"So you're naturally this bitchy?"

"Shut up!" She hits him on the arm again.

"Ow!" he rubs his arm. "Great I think you broke it again."

"Yeah cry me a river," Dew said. "Besides you'll heal quickly. Speaking of, how did you heal so quickly?"

"Do you want to know the truth?" Jaune asked. Dew nodded. "I have no flipping idea. But why were you so shocked by that anyway?"

"Oh well that's a helpful answer. You truly are an idiot." Jaune just shrugged. "And the reason I was shocked was because while my semblance speeds up the healing process, you were practically running on fumes. Yet, despite that you were still able to heal quickly.

"What can I say? I've always been a fast healer."

"Well, whatever. What's important is everyone's alive." Dew stands up and stretches. "Don't get us killed idiot."

"Of course not." Jaune smiled and Dew rolled her eyes and walked back to the fire. At that moment Jaune knew he could survive here. It wouldn't be easy, but then again, when was easy ever apart of Jaune Arc's life?

 **To be continued.**

 **A/N Hey everyone, I hope all of you are enjoying the story so far. Now I have been getting a lot of reviews that say I'm writing teams RWBY and JNPR (Minus Jaune) OOC. I have done some thinking and I will admit, that is true. I have wrote RWBY off as assholes without giving a good reason why they are behaving like that. But in a way, I kind of wanted this. I wanted people to see how RWBY reacted to Jaune and be like "Okay, what caused them to act like this." However, I ended up shooting myself in the foot. It seemed to drive people away since as the one guest reviewer said: "** **Another "RWBY and JNPR go OOC and act like assholes toward Jaune""**

 **The reason I wanted RWBY to act like that was because I was not done with them yet. I plan on having RWBY and NPR sometime later in this story, and to have the fully fleshed story of how Jaune got kicked out, instead of just little bits and pieces of flashbacks.**

 **I also want to thank everyone who has followed, favorited, and reviewed this story. It shows me that despite some of my flaws, you all are still excited/curious enough to keep checking in on it.**

 **I hope you guys enjoyed and see you all in the next chapter.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Now before people say I just reuploaded the chapter again, I want to let everyone know that I made some changes in this. I'll explain in the end, but basically I changed Jaune's semblance from ancestors to something more… in character. For people that have read the chapter just go to the chained up part to see the difference.**

"Jaune!"

Jaune opened his eyes and looked up. He saw that it was night out and that Dew was shaking him awake.

"Get up dummy," She said. Jaune sits up and clutches his side a bit, still sore from the fight with the Charger. "You'll be fine."

"Yeah yeah," Jaune moaned. He looked up and noticed the stars were still up. "We're moving out already?"

"You're the one who wanted us to." Dew offers a hand to Jaune. "Need help?"

Jaune shakes his head. "I think I got it." He groans as he gets up, other than a little stiffness he was fine.

"Well then, shall we?" Dew asked with a little sarcastic curtsy.

"Ladies first." Jaune motioned for her to go and she rolled her eyes. The two of them go back to the campsite. There was still a tiny fire but it so dim that it barely lit anyone's faces. They hear the movement of Jaune and Dew and turn to them, most of them surprised to see jaune standing.

"Well I'll be damned…" Brawnz said. "Figured we'd have to carry you Gimpy."

"I highly doubt any of you would," Jaune joked. This earned a chuckle from Brawnz and Dew, and a little air breath from Nebula and Roy, the others ignored him. "All right, did you guys figure out anything?"

"Yes," Octavia said. "No thanks to you." If Jaune was hurt by that then he showed no signs of it.

"What'd you guys find out?" Jaune asked as he reached down to grab the supply bag. However Dew grabbed his arm. He looked up at her and she shook her head. She then grabbed the Supply bag and strapped it to herself.

"Well," Brawnz said picking up the other supply bags. "We're in Picaro mining camp. Everyone was in the process of packing up and moving to another location, due to how some of supplies were already in backpacks."

"And then Grimm?"

"Yep, but the good news is that we're only about fifty miles away from the school."

"We're that close?" Brawnz nodded his head.

"Yeah, we should be able to get there by the afternoon," Dew said.

"And when we're there we won't ever have to deal with him again," Nolan said to May, causing the girl to giggle.

"All right, grab everything and let's get moving," Jaune said. Everyone gave various responses from yeses to grunts, they made sure they grabbed all of the food, all of Gwen's knives, any dust, anything that made their survival easier. Once they had everything, they head out.

 **A few hours later:**

"Let's rest here for a little bit!" Jaune called out. Sighs of relief could be heard from all around. All of them were sweating buckets from all of the walking. Dawn was upon them, with a tiny bit of the sun shining down.

Brawnz drops the supply bag and hands everyone water. It was a good thing they found Picaro, otherwise they'd have to be rationing the water a little more harshly. Brawnz walked up to Jaune and gave him a pat on the shoulder.

"How are you holding up?" he asked. Jaune took a swig of the water bottle before answering.

"Well, still feels like I got kicked by a mule in certain places," Jaune answered. "Not to mention tired from all the walking. Other than that I'm good." Jaune hands back the water bottle to Brawnz who takes a drink from it.

"Yeah it sucks," He said wiping his mouth. "I mean how did they expect to move all of the equipment without any vehicles?" Jaune was about to quip with Brawnz but realized what he said. Why _weren't_ there any vehicles?

"You telling me you didn't find any vehicles?" Jaune asked.

"You didn't either?"

Jaune shook his head. This was weird. "I'll be right back." Jaune went up to Nebula and Gwen who were talking about Gwen's knives.

"Are you sure you got all of them?" Nebula asked her teammate.

"I'm positive Neb," the black haired girl said. "I double checked before we left."

"Good, 'cause replacing them isn't exactly cheap." The two girls laughed. Jaune decided now would be a good as time as any.

"Hey Nebula, hey Gwen," He said as he walked up to them.

"Oh, Hey Jaune," Nebula said. Gwen just responded with a nod. She couldn't look Jaune in the eye, but at the same time it wasn't with disgust, it was something else.

"Mind if I ask you girls a question?" Gwen again just nods while avoiding eye contact.

"Go ahead," Nebula said.

"Did you girls find any signs of vehicles?" Gwen her bit her lip and Nebula put her hand to her mouth.

"Now that you mention it, no."

"No," Gwen answered.

"Why do you ask?"

"Well…" Jaune said. "Don't you think it's weird? I mean, if they were trying to move, wouldn't they need trucks? Something to haul all of the equipment?"

The two of them actually thought about it. However they didn't get a long time to. Everyone heard an explosion and took out their weapons and looked around.

"What the hell?" Roy said aloud.

"What was that?" Jaune asked.

"Whatever it was, it didn't sound good…" Octavia said. The two teams and Jaune looked around and waited. Waited for something to happen.

They soon got their wish as another explosion was heard. They all looked around trying to find whatever it was causing all of this. Jaune looked up and saw something flying toward him. He ducks down and the object hits the sand. Everyone heard him yelp and turned toward him. They then saw the little cylander that landed in the sand.

Everyone slowly approached it. They had no idea what it was. However as soon as they were close the object sprung up and exploded, and a blinding flash and rining could be heard.

Jaune falls to the ground, rubbing his eyes and trying to stop the ringing in his head. However just as it looks like the blinding light was out of his eyes, another grenade landed near all of them.

The grenade exploded causing a suspicious gas to form around the students. As they inhaled it it was very obvious that it wasn't the type of gas that needed to be inhaled. It caused the students eyesight to become blurry, and it made them feel weak.

As they all slowly fell to the ground, Jaune could have sworn he heard a vehicle or something approach them. However he soon passed out before he could really tell.

 **One hour later:**

Jaune feels someone putting their hand on his mouth and moving his head around. He groans and slowly opens his eyes to reveal a shirtless man with a hockey mask staring at him. He also felt as if he was hanging from something. He feels handcuffs or something wrapped around his wrists and they are digging deep into his skin. Jaune groans as he looks down to noticed his legs were hanging, but also had chains around them. He was basically bonded.

"Oi, Jamison, the blonde guy's awake!" the shirtless man said. He lets go of Jaune and clears the way for who Jaune assumed was Jamison. Jamison had a very pointed face, a wicked smile on his face, and his hair was point upward and… had flames ablaze on top of it. He also seemed to have a mechanical arm and peg leg. Jamison had a harness as a shirt that had a lot of bombs on it, with a tire with spikes strapped to his back.

"Wakey wakey!" Jamison said. "G'day cobber, how ya feeling?" Jaune just groans at him. "Yeah I remember when I got hit with those gas grenades before. Get groggier than an addict without his poison." The man named Jamison gets a closer look at Jaune. "Oi, you don't look Vacuan mate, and you don't exactly strike me as Mistralian either. You Atlas?"

Jaune had no idea what to do. Does he respond? Does he act tough? Silent treatment? The man didn't exactly look stable so he had no idea how to react. Luckily someone, or something distracted Jamison.

A grunt could be heard and Jaune looked to see a very fat man, with a tattoo of a pig on his belly with an engine and flames behind the pig, and he was wearing a mask that was shaped like pig noise. He had a hook connected to a chain at his side, and was dressed up as if he was in an apocalypse. Jaune noticed that's how all of them dressed.

"Well unlike you Roadie, I like to know why our stuff was stolen by these brats," Jamison said. Another grunt from the fat man. "I do ya big lug!" As the two continued arguing, Jaune looked around the room he was in. It looked like a poorly made shack, but there were chains all around with blood, both dried and fresh, on them and on the walls and floor.

He then notices Roy on the right side of the room. He was hung the same way Jaune was. When Jaune looked to his left he saw Nolan in the same predicament they were in. He then saw Brawnz right across from him. All four of the guys were hanging on all four sides of the room.

Jaune hears Jamison groan. "All right all right," Jamison said. He goes over to Jaune and waves to him. "You still conscious?" Jaune groans. "Jesus man, can you even speak?"

"Go fuck yourself Junkrat," Roy said. Jaune and Jamison look over to the dark skin boy. Jamison/Junkrat got a big smile on his face.

"Well well, look who's awake." Jamison walks over to Roy and grabs his hair. he forces Roy to look him in his maniac like eyes. "SO, who hired ya?" Roy spits in Jamison's face. Jamison wipes away the spit and then punches Roy in the gut with his mechanical arm. The saw blade user would keel over if he could. "I'll ask you again, mate. Who hired you? Or are just bounty hunters?"

Roy just stared into his eyes with no fear in them. Jamison backs off but takes another look at all of the guys. He then gets a look of realization and starts chuckling. It then slowly turns into a maniacal laugh. "Shade students?!" Jamison said. "How did I not see this before?"

Roadie grunts what sounded like a question. Jamison turns to him. "Of course I'm sure! Listen civies that know of us should be scared right?" Roadie nods. "Well these blokes seem to be a little young to be mercs or bounty hunters. At the same time, they were carrying Huntsman equipment. Doesn't take a genuis to put two and two together." Jamison goes to Roy and cups Roy's face with his robotic fingers. "So what's a Shady doing out here anyway?"

Roy just glares into Jamison's eyes. Jamison just shrugs and uncups Roy's face. "Whatever," he said with a shrug. "I'm sure our sweet little tarts want some alone time with you. Not to mention the mates with ya shiela's. Don't worry though I'm sure most of them will be quick when their done with you. Most of them anyway." Jamison lets out another maniacal chuckle as he and Roadie left the room.

As the door closed, the sound of it echoed a little bit, and then silence soon followed. Jaune looks over to Roy. "Roy, who was he?" Jaune asked hoarsely.

"Jamison Fawkes," Roy said. "Known as Junkrat in the criminal underbelly." Roy would explain more but they heard another groan. They turn to the noise and see Brawnz waking up. He blinks his eyes as Jaune and Roy try to get his attention.

"Brawnz!" The two hunters in training said in unison. As Brawnz slowly got over his fatigue he looked up.

"Jaune? Roy?" Brawnz said weakly. "Where are we?"

"We've been captured by Junkrat," Roy said. Brawnz's pupils shrunk. "And now he's letting his friends do whatever they want with us." Brawnz's starts struggling to get out of the chains. Jaune could see from the way he was struggling it was out of fear. Intense fear.

"We need to get out of here, now!" Brawnz cried. He started spazzing out trying to escape.

"Brawnz calm down!" Roy said. "We can't escape if―" Roy is cut off by the door opening again. In walks in four women dressed as if they were in the apocalypse. They had the same kind of clothes Junkrat and Roadie had.

"Mmm…" a girl with a tank top and jet black haired said. She licked her lips as she looked in the room. "They sure caught some good looking ones." The girl behind her, who wore leather armor, looked in. She had the same post-apocalyptic dress style.

"I call dibs on young blonde and handsome," She said as she looked directly at Jaune. The lecherous stare that she had on Jaune made him shudder.

The final girl, who had a scar over her left eye, looked at Nolan with a look of disapproval. "The bastard is still sleeping. It's no fun if they're unconscious." She then looks over to Brawnz and gets a big smile on her lip. "Aw well, I'm in the mood for some chocolate anyway." She walks over to Brawnz as the other two walk to Jaune and Roy. Brawnz growls at her.

"I swear to the gods if you put a finger on me," Brawnz said. Despite trying to keep the tough guy act, there was fear everywhere in his body. The scar bandit puts her finger to his lips and shushes him.

"Just enjoy it, it'll be your last," She said. She then begins licking Brawnz, much to his discomfort.

Once she did that the other girls began to do the same to Jaune and Roy. Jaune shifted uncomfortable as the tank top bandit's tongue traveled his neck. He feels her stroking his chest and trying to remove any armor he had on him. Jaune keeps struggling, as do Roy and Brawnz but to no avail.

Eventually she was able to strip Jaune of his torso armor and was stroking his bare chest as she continued to lick his neck. She even began biting on him. Despite struggling, Jaune had to admit it felt good, and he hated that fact. Jaune looked around the room and saw Brawnz and Roy in just as much displeasure as he was.

The three hunters in training squirmed as they continued to be harassed. Jaune wanted, no _needed_ to get out, but with all of them chained up, he couldn't think of a way to get out. The girl stopped necking Jaune and moved away from him. She licked her lips and finally went to his mouth. Jaune moaned in shock as her tongue was stuffed down his throat. Despite that, Jaune was still trying to find a way out, but as the time seemed to grow longer and longer, Jaune was starting to accept that perhaps this was it. This is the end for him.

"Am I seriously letting this happen?" Jaune thought. As the girls tongue wriggled around in his mouth, Jaune grew disgusted with himself. He wasn't doing anything. He _couldn't_ do anything. Jaune looked around for something, anything to help him. However there seemed to be nothing that could get them out.

He looked down and saw the chains that held him together. All of a sudden his head felt a little funny and his vision changed for a split second. his vision then turns to a reddish tint. Jaune thought he was seeing things but when he looked down at his chains, he saw that there was a circle over the chain all of a sudden some text popped up next to it.

 _ **Chain strength: 32%  
Suggested action: use strength to break out.**_

Jaune couldn't believe his eyes. He thought he was going insane. However he wouldn't have time as he felt the bandits hand lower slowly down from his torso to his… sword. Jaune knew if he used his aura he could probably break out but he needed a distraction. He actually had one come to mind as the bandit kept sticking her tongue down his throat, but he didn't like it.

Nolan woke up and looked around and saw the same thing the others saw when they woke up: All of them chained in a room. Only this time Nolan saw that there were bandit girls harassing them. The one messing with Brawnz turned and saw Nolan was awkae. She stops licking Brawnz and goes over to Nolan.

"Looks like the Redhead's awake," she said. She puts her hand on his face and smiles. "I'll be with you after I'm done with him." The bandit girl began walking over to Brawnz.

A second later, one of the girl began screaming in agony. She backed away from Jaune which caught the attention of the other two. They kneel down next to her to see her puking blood. They turn to Jaune, and beside the look of extreme anger on his face and the white glow, they could tell her had something in his mouth. He opens his mouth and lets the object drop from his mouth and to the ground. It didn't take long for everyone to realize what it was.

Jaune bit off the tank top girl's tongue.

This caused the bandit in leather armor to yell and grab a rock nearby and charge at Jaune. However, Jaune lifted his legs, as hard, fast and as high as he could. He had to do it a few times in order for it to finally break.

When the bandit girl was in range Jaune swung and kicked her square in the face, sending her flying. The scarred girl charged at Jaune and punched him in the stomach. This caused Jaune to gasp for air. She then punched Jaune square in the face three times. The bandit girl in leather armor came up to Jaune and began choking him.

"You piece of shit!" The scarred one yelled. "I'm gonna gut you and place your head on a pike!"

"Who the hell was in charge of chains?!" The leather armored bandit said. "They didn't replace the ones we use for civies!"

As the one girl choked him and the other girl beat him and the last girl was choking on her own blood, Nolan decided to take action. He concentrated his aura into his arms. Once he was ready, he pulled his arms apart fast and with intense strength.

The chains break apart and Nolan picks up a stone nearby. He throws it as hard as he could at the bandit choking Jaune. This caused the girl to let go of Jaune and be able to get air in his lungs, which was soon punched out by the scarred girl.

The bandit girl that Nolan hit gets up and tackles him to the ground. "I don't know how you got out but I'll make sure it was the last thing you ever do!"

Brawnz and Roy watch in horror as they see two bandits hitting their friends, while another was slowly dying. They were in so much shock that they couldn't move.

Jaune eventually kicks the bandit girl away from him, which caused her to trip over the other bandit that was beating up Nolan. As both of them fell, Nolan got an idea. Since his feet were still chained up he moved his legs across one of the bandit girls' throat. He then twisted his legs in a way where the chain was choking her.

Jaune took this as his chance to break his arm chains. He lifts his legs up to the roof of the shack and pushes downward to break the chains. It works but Jaune wasn't using his aura and when he landed, his back landed right on a sharp stone. This caused Jaune to yelp in pain.

As Nolan continued to strangle the one bandit girl, the scarred one got up and grabbed a nearby stone. She then bashed in Nolan's face with it. Nolan's chains loosened around the leather armored girl's neck. The bandit girl gasped for air and turned to Nolan, anger in her eyes.

Both of the bandit girls get up and begin attacking Nolan. Jaune slowly stood up and saw that they were double teaming Nolan. Jaune's leadership instinct kicked in and he charge and tackled the scarred bandit.

They both fall to the ground and Jaune then straddles the girl. He then raises his fist as high as he could and begins punching her. Hard. He hits her harder than he has ever hit someone. And he does it nonstop.

As that happens Nolan was able to counter the other bandit on top of him and pushes her off. He grab a stone nearby and then bashes hard against the chains around his legs a couple of times, causing them to break.

Nolan then goes over to the bandit girl and pins against the floor. "You're going to tell me what I want to know!"

"Fuck you!"

Nolan headbutts her. "Where are the rest of us?"

"Burn in hell!"

Nolan punches her in the face.

"I'll ask again. Where are the girls?" The bandit girl spits in Nolan's face. Nolan wipes the blood from his face. He then placed his thumb right next to her eye. He then places pressure to make it very clear what he planned on doing. He slowly moved his thumb closer to the eye. Just as it was about to reach her eye, she sumbits.

"All right all right! I'll talk!"

"Good."

As Nolan continued interrogating, Jaune was still beating up the bandit girl. He was making sure she never hurt his friends again. However, Roy yelling was what caused Jaune to stop punching.

"Jaune!"

Jaune stopped and looked at Roy, his fist still in the air. However, he saw it in his peripheral vision and saw something red, wet and sticky on his knuckles. He then looked down at the bandit girl and saw her face, and he couldn't belive himself.

She was beaten to a pulp. More than that, she was beaten to death. Jaune then looked over at the girl whose tongue he bit off and saw her lying still. Jaune just looked in horror at what he did.

He gets up and walk over to the wall and then brings his legs close to his chest. Everything that just happened in the past five minutes replays in his head. It keeps replaying over and over, every gruesome detail.

It played so much in his head that he didn't realise a hand waving in front of his face. He looks up to see Brawnz was the one waving his hand in Jaune's face. Roy and Brawnz were now free of the chains as Nolan must have gotten them down.

"Jaune are you okay?" Brawnz said. Jaune looked over to the two bandits again and that's when the reality of what he did finally caught up to him. He felt his stomach churn and at this point he didn't care. He leaned over to the side and puked his guts out. He puked more than he ever did from motion sickness. After wards he just feints. The three others just stare at him confused by what happened.

"Is he okay?" Nolan asked.

"Jaune, wake up!" Brawnz said. The two of them sat Jaune up and tried to wake him up. Meanwhile, Roy looked around and thought for a second.

" _Is it possible that he feinted from exhaustion?"_ Roy thought. _"It didn't seem to be that much of a strain on him physically…"_ That was when it hit Roy. Physically Jaune was fine. Mentally, he wasn't.

"Guys," Roy said, getting the attention of his two teammates. "Jaune was from Vale, right?"

"Um… yeah why?" Brawnz asked. Roy motioned to the two now deceased bandits.

"You really think Jaune has the guts to stomach… that?"

That was when Nolan and Brawnz realized why Jaune was so distraught. Nolan killing the bandit girl was fairly easy. Sure he didn't like it, but it's not like he could keep her alive. She would eventually warn the others that they escaped if she was kept alive. The difference between Nolan and Jaune was that Nolan has killed bandits before. He had to for most of his missions. But Jaune? Jaune wasn't from Vacuo, he hasn't gotten used to its… livelihood.

"Well, now what do we do?" Nolan asked.

"I think it's best if you guys find the girls," Brawnz said. "I'll watch over Jaune."

"Are you sure?"

Brawnz nods. "You guys go, I think Jaune needs to see a friendly face when he wakes up." The two guys nod and begin to leave. "Don't get caught. We need to make sure that we get out of here without making it any harder on ourselves."

"Right," the two said in unison. With that they left Jaune and Brawn on their own. As Brawnz looked down at his passed out blonde friend, he couldn't help but blame himself. He was the one who brought Jaune to Shade, so he was the reason why Jaune had to kill the two bandits.

 **To be continued.**

 **A/N: So for those of you who were wondering where Chapter 6 went, well I had some time to think and discuss with someone that my semblance I had for Jaune wasn't exactly the best fit for him. Which is why we both agreed that this new one was better suited for him. And that person I discussed with was my new Beta reader, TheShadowofZama. For those of you who read the reviews you will notice he reviewed very harsh and true criticisms about my story, which I appreciated. Hence why I decided to discuss some things with him and have him be my betareader.**

 **Now before you guys say I only changed the chapter because of one review, I want to state that I didn't change just for him. You see, I like to keep my stories a few chapters ahead so I can review them from time to time and make sure I keep a weekly upload schedule. I've read them and thought about my plans with the previous semblance and came to the same conclusion that he did: I'm going nowhere with the semblance or the ancestors. Even without them my story would progress the same.**

 **Anyway, that's why I deleted chapter six and replaced it. I hope you guys enjoyed and stay tuned for the next chapter.**


	7. Chapter 7

Jaune looked around to see nothing but blackness. It was as if he was in a room with no light. "Hello?!" he called out. All of a sudden the sound of a switch flipping was heard. Jaune turns around to see a light shining down on a body. Around the body was a pool of blood. Jaune runs over to it and kneels with shock. He calls out to the darkness again.

"Help! Someone help!"

When Jaune turns the body over he realizes that it was the bandit girl he killed he yelps and scoots back away from it. that was until he felt something behind him. He looks over his shoulder and saw another body lying there. He recognizes it as the bandit girl whose tongue he bit off.

All of a sudden it was as if the darkness slowly dissapeared, only it wasn't darkness. It was bats, ravens and crows circling Jaune to make it seem like he ws in a dark room. The flapping of wings filled Jaune's ear which caused him to cover them. However, what came next was the worst part: The screeching of the flying creatures.

"MURDERER!"

"KILLER!"

"BUTCHER!

"CUT-THROAT!"

Each individual animal created a new synoym, each more horrifying than the last. Jaune yelled back. "NO! I didn't mean to!"

"REAPER!"

"ASSASSIN!"

"They hurt my friends! I had no choice!"

"What a load of shit," A low yet familiar voice said. Jaune turns to see a shadow like figure standing with what seemed to be its hands in its pockets. Dark yellow eyes was the only light that Jaune could see. "You know you always have the choice to take someone's life."

"Who are you?"

"Come on, don't even recognize me?" The figure smiles a white smile with little traces of blood in between what Jaune assumed was teeth. The longer Jaune stared the more apparent it became. Jaune was looking at himself.

"No, no you are not me!"

The figure shrugs. "You're right, I'm you about a year from now. Soon, killing will become so easy for you. In fact I know you feel it now. The power that comes with it." The figure grinned menacingly. "You crave it."

"No!" Jaune said. Again, the winged creatures circle Jaune shouting out names. Jaune covers his ears and rocks back and forth. "I didn't mean it! I'm sorry!"

* * *

Brawnz saw the scared and pained look on the unconscious blonde's face. He couldn't help but feel guilty. He knows what it's like to kill someone for the first time. Brawnz was just lucky enough that it was from a distance, Jaune literally beat someone to death and made another choke on her own blood. Not exactly the most painless way to kill someone.

Brawnz looked at his right hand. That image of the gun in his hand as he protected his dad is still in his head. He can never forget that day. He remembers it as if it was yesterday.

* * *

A ten year old Brawnz is sleeping in his cot in the tent his family lives in. His dad was a miner for the schneee dust company so they often stayed in a place for a few months and moved on after the resources were depleted and or their boss had to relocate. Brawnz has gotten used to it. At least everyone in the camp traveled together. Brawnz never had to say goodbye to his friends, but as friends traveled together, so did enemies.

Brawnz was awoken by the sound of a scuffle and grunting. He sits up and listens closely for the sounds. He then hears someone whisper something.

"Let's go you thieving bastard," the voice said. Feet shuffle away and Brawnz gets up and goes over to his dad's cot.

"Dad," he said. "I think someone's in trouble." When Brawnz didn't get a response he was going to shake his dad awake. However, once he noticed that there was no one there, Brawnz put two and two together. However he had to be sure. Brawnz made sure that his mother was still asleep before he grabbed a flashlight and slipped out of the tent.

He looked around the tent with the flashlight shining on the desert sand, hoping to find the footprints that were left behind. After a minute of searching he found two set of footprints. He began to follow them, hopefully to find that his dad was okay.

After following the prints he began to hear voices. Brawnz turned off the flashlight and slowly followed the voices. He finds that two figures are arguing about something. The ten year old hides behind a mining machine and listens to the conversation.

"What do you want Jerry?" The voice of his father says. "I didn't take anything from you."

"Don't bullshit me Connor!" The other voice threatened. "Do you think I'm an idiot? I saw you go to my stash and take out the dust _I_ mined. And then you sold it to the boss for extra cash!"

"I haven't even been near your tent! How am I supposed to steal from you if I haven't even been near you!"

"You think I keep my stash in my tent? Unlike you I like to make my stuff hidden, not in my tent!"

"You're the idiot if you think I don't know that. I have a stash too and if it's next to your I'm sorry, but I didn't steal from you!"

Brawnz looked around the corner to see Jerry, a man who was his father's rival, pinning his father against the mining machine.

"Figures a thief would lie. You know you've been a pain in my ass since I joined. Well now, I'm gonna make sure you won't be a pain anymore."

Jerry takes out a gun. This causes Brawnz's dad to kick Jerry away. Jerry falls to the floor and Brawn's dad jumps on him and struggles to take the gun away from Jerry. As the two wrestle, Brawns watches in horror as each of them strike each other.

Brawnz's dad was able to wrestle the gun away and toss it to the side, over to where Brawnz was hiding. Brawnz picks up the gun and holds it in his hand. He notices that it has a silencer. He looks up to see Jerry on top of his father. He then notices that Jerry had another weapon on him: A switchblade.

Brawnz gasps as Jerry pulls out the knife. "So long!" Jerry said. Brawnz checks the gun for bullets and cocks the slide. He then points it at Jerry.

"Don't!" He yelled. Jerry looks over to see Brawnz standing there. He raises an eyebrow.

"You think you can shoot me boy?" Jerry said. He stabs Brawnz's father in the chest causing the man to clutch the wounded area. He then slowly approaches Brawnz. "Well? Shoot me boy! Shoot me!"

Brawnz's hands shook as Jerry stepped closer and closer. Jerry was moving faster and faster as he got closer to Brawnz. "Jerry don't hurt him, he has nothing to do with this!" Brawnz dad said.

"Maybe not, but It'll send a clear message."

Jerry smiled wildly and raised a knife at Brawnz. Brawnz gasps and dives out of the way of the knife and slowly backs away from Jerry, gun in his hand. "Sorry boy, blame your father for this." Jerry said as he got closer. Eventually Brawnz yelled and closed his eyes as he pointed the gun in Jerry's direction. He fires off five shots.

When Brawnz doesn't feel something entering his skin, he opens his eyes to reveal Jerry, clutching his chest and breathing heavily. Brawnz then notices the blood running down him. "You… bastard…"

Jerry falls back and Brawnz stares in horror. His father was able to get up and walk over to them and see what happened. He notices his son and slowly walks over to him, still making sure he isn't losing blood. He goes behind Brawnz and turns him around.

"Don't look, son," He said as he hugged his child.

"I…I…" Was all the young boy could say.

"Don't look. You did what you had to."

* * *

Brawnz continued to look at his hand. He shakes both his hand and his head. Now was not the time to remember. He needed to be there for Jaune when he woke up and needed to make sure they were both safe.

He sat next to his friend and waited. He didn't know what would come first, the escape or comforting Jaune.

 **With Nolan and Roy:**

Nolan and Roy followed the directions that the bandit gave them to the female prison. Nolan learned that the prisons are a makeshift cave the bandits found. They dug a little more and used metal and wood to make more prisons.

Fortunately the cave wasn't a big one, hence why the bandits had to dig. As they navigated through the cave, slowly and stealthily as to not let anyone know they escaped, Nolan whispered to Roy. "Hey, you okay man?"

"I'm fine, why?" Roy said as he kept an eye behind them.

"Well Jaune and I were the only ones that really fought in there. You two just froze up." Nolan held up his hand as a way to tell Brawnz to hold. Both of them lower themselves and behind rocks. Two bandits carrying assault rifles slowly walked and talk out of the cave. Roy and Nolan heard a little bit of the conversation.

"The purple haired one's really hot," one of them said. "Think Eric'll share her?"

"Nah mate," the other said. "You know how Eric is, once he got his eye on one, he's going to want to keep her. Besides, from what I remember we still got three other girls locked up and waiting for the initiation."

"I still can't believe we got Shade students.

"Bah! I can't wait for the initiations. I'm fighting Eric. That git can jump in hole for all I care. I'm definitely going to get a dance from her."

"Hey man if you want to fight the bastard for a dance, be my guest. It will be funny to watch your drunk ass get slammed through a table."

"Hey at least I can handle a few drinks!"

The conversation could no longer be heard as the two bandits were too far off for them to be heard. Nolan and Roy look at each other. "You think that's Nebula?" Roy asked.

"You know any other purple haired girls?" Nolan asked.

"All I'm saying is they could've taken people from Picaro." The two begin moving again to find the cells.

"You still haven't answered my question."

"I'm telling you I'm fine." Nolan gave a backwards glance to Roy. The dark skinned boy sighed. "Look, I froze because I had no idea what to do. I panicked. I saw you and Jaune fighting, and after almost getting raped, my mind was blank. It shut down. At least it did for me, I can't say the same for Brawnz."

"But you're good now, right?" Roy nodded. "All right, let's go get our friends."

The two continued further into the cave, occasionally stopping and hiding to make sure the bandits don't see them. They eventually reach a long narrow place in the cave. Nolan slowly peaks around the corner to see a guard standing in front of a door. He was smoking a cigarette and he had what looked to be a pistol holstered to his side. He wasn't really paying attention so he didn't notice Roy and Nolan peaking around the corner.

Roy and Nolan walk a little bit away and discuss their plan of attack. "Okay, what do you got Roy?"

"It's a long straight and narrow so only one way to the door. However he has his pistol holstered and it's only fifteen feet to the door. We can try to rush him but the scuffle could cause others to hear. If we can get him away from the door we can ambush him."

Nolan and Roy were looking around for any kind of a distraction. Throwing a rock wouldn't do it as stones fall all the time in a cave. Perhaps throwing a stone in the bandit's face could work?

As the two brainstormed, Nolan noticed a small scurrying thing out of the corner of his eyes. He realizes a cave rat came out of its home, most likely to look for food. Nolan nudges Roy and points to the rat. Roy realized what Nolan wanted to do and looked at his teammate.

"You sure it'll work?"

"I'll get his attention," Nolan said with a confident grin. He reaches hand towards the rat, a ball of aura engulfs it. "When you hear the sound of the guy struggling you come over. Oh and, watch my body will ya?"

With a slight jolt the aura around the rat glowed and Nolan slumped over.

 **Nolan's POV:**

I blink a couple of times. It takes time to get used to a new body. I get used to the new smells and sounds. I look around to see Roy and my body sitting next to the rocks. I nod to him and he nods back. I crawl over to the guard and begin our plan.

 **3rd person POV:**

The guard took a final puff of his cigarette. He was about to drop it but he found a rat coming close to him. He looks at the still lit cig and smiles. He flicks it at the rat, hoping to hit it. However the Rat moved out of the way as it saw the cigarette flying towards it. The guard sighed.

"Of course it moves," he said aloud, covering his face. He doesn't notice the rat moved closer to him. He removes his hand from his face and continues keeping guard. That was until he felt an unfamiliar weight on his foot. He looks down to see the rat trying to climb his leg. He yells and tried to shake it off but it runs up his leg, biting him every second it could.

The rat eventually runs up his shirt and the guard is basically punching himself trying to crush the rat. As he is distracted Roy grabs a nearby rock and approaches him. Roy then grabs the guard's shoulder, grips the rock tightly, and then hits him hard in the head with it.

The guard falls to the ground, a fresh wound on the side of his face from Roy. The rat crawls from the guard's shirt and looks at Roy. Roy sticks his hand for the rat to climb on. He takes the Rat over to his original body and heads over to loot the guard.

An aura wraps around the red head's body. A jolt and squeak from the rat causes the aura to glow a little and then disappear around from the body. The rat sprints away back to its home. Nolan opens his eyes and stretches. He moves his limbs around to get used to them again.

He gets up and walks over to his friend to see him checking the magazine of the guard's pistol. "You know you didn't exactly put my body in a comfortable spot," Nolan said as he checked the guard. He realized Roy left the knife on the guard for him to keep.

"Suck it up, Buttercup," Roy said. As Nolan continues to search the body, Roy slides the guns back to have the round eject from it. He grabs it and loads it into the magazine. He then puts the magazine into the gun. Roy holster's the gun and looks at Nolan. "Does he have keys?"

"Yeah, right here." Nolan showed the key to Roy and then handed it to him. "You get the girls, I'll deal with this guy." Roy nods and Nolan takes the body and drags it away. For good measure he slices the guard's throat just in case Roy didn't hit him hard enough.

Roy unlocks the door and opens the door, only to hear a scream and see someone running toward him. Roy blocks the person's arms with his arm, causing the stone they had in their hands to fall to the ground. He then unholsters the pistol and aims the gun in their face.

When Roy realizes it was the face of his team's sniper, he sighed. Luckily he didn't put his finger on the trigger when he pulled it out. "Oum May, that anyway to treat your teammate?"

"Sorry, I thought you were one of the guards," She said. "They get a little… handsy when they drug us."

"Drug you?"

"They've been taking us one at a time and drugging us to make it so we don't run. They took Nebula and Octavia and drugged them while keeping their guns trained on us."

Roy nodded. It would make sense that the bandits would have to keep them under control seeing as how most of the girls at Shade weren't exactly girly girls. But one thing was bothering Roy.

"You didn't hear the fighting going on on the other side of the door?"

"The bandit's fight each other all the time. Now quit stalling and help us get out of these chains."

Roy looked and saw that it was May, Gwen, and Dew in the prison. He waves to them and Dew Nods back while Gwen looks away from him and waves. The way they were chained up was different compared to the way the guys were chained up. They had the chains around their ankles which were around posts. However he noticed that the girls' chains had a weird glow around them. That was when he realized that these were the aura cancelling chains. He kneels down and uses the key to unlock May's ankle from the chain.

"Thanks," She said. The door opened again to reveal a bandit with red hair coming in. May instantly was on them choking them. That was until she got a look at them and realized it was Nolan wearing the Bandit armor. "Nolan?!"

"Stop… Choking… Me!" Nolan said in a raspy voice. May didn't realize she was still strangling him and let go.

"Sorry."

Roy unlocked Dew and helped her to her feet. "About time you saved the damsels in distress," She joked. Roy rolled his eyes and went over to Gwen.

"Nolan, why are you dressed like that?" May asked her teammate.

"I'm going to infiltrate the base, see if I can find Nebula and Octavia," Nolan said. "Besides, I know how to act around bandits remember?"

Roy got done unlocking Gwen's chains. She thanks him meekly and they both go over to Nolan. "Nolan, you know you don't have to do this," Roy said.

"Look, impersonating a bandit to get a layout of the place is going to be a lot easier than trying to sneak around it. All of you go back to our cell, Brawnz is there with Jaune."

"The blonde?" May asked. "Let me guess, he doesn't know what to do?"

"He feinted after biting a girl's tongue off and beating another one to death," Roy stated bluntly. The room fell silent for a few moments.

"Jaune?" Dew said. "The idiot?" Roy and Nolan nodded. Dew shrugs. "I'll believe it if I see it."

"Well go to our cell," Nolan said. "Like I said Brawnz is there keeping an eye on Jaune. I'll get Nebula and Octavia, and then we're getting the hell out of here."

"Just don't get caught man," Roy said. the two slap hands and do a quick bro hug.

"Wouldn't dream of it."

With that done, both parties go their separate ways.

 **To be continued.**


	8. Chapter 8

Jaune wakes up to the sound of talking. He slowly lifts his head and looks around. He realizes that he is in the same prison. He also realizes his mouth has the feint taste of copper. He looks around to see that not only was Brawnz in the room, but so was Roy, May, Dew and Gwen. He saw Roy talking with May , Gwen and Dew were in the cornor chatting, and Brawnz looking and guarding the exit. Jaune looks over to his right to see four dead bodies. Two of which were because of him. That was when he realized what the taste in his mouth was. He backs away from the corpses, which gains the attention of Brawnz.

"Jaune!" The brown skinned student goes over to his friend and kneels down in front of him. He looks at Jaune's eyes and sees fear and guilt in them. He slowly puts his hand on Jaune's shoulder. Jaune looked over to Brawnz. "Are you feeling okay?"

"I… No…" Jaune said. "I can't believe I…"

"Hey, I'm here for you man." Brawnz gave a reassuring squeeze on his shoulder. Jaune nodded his head. The others noticed Jaune's state as well. They thought it better to let Brawnz talk to Jaune, as he was the closest out of all of them. He would probably be able to calm him down the easiest.

As Brawnz talked with Jaune, May and Roy continued talking with each other. "Poor guy," Roy said.

"Roy, why are you feeling sympathy for him?" May asked.

"The guy just killed the first time, how can I not sympathize with him?"

"How about the fact that if he didn't get injured, we would be at Shade by now, instead of nearly becoming sex slaves!" Dew and Gwen heard May. While Gwen thought she had a point, Dew had a different opinion. She walked over to May and joined in on the conversation.

"Why do you want blame him for everything that goes wrong?" Dew asked. May just shrugged.

"Hey, Headmistress Nyx said he was the leader, so technically everything is his fault." Dew and Roy just stared her down and she grumbled. "Am I the only one that hasn't forgot that this guy was a fake. Not to mention everything that happens, won't affect us at all. It's his initiation, but why did we have to get dragged along?"

While Dew and Roy didn't view it like that, May's word seemed to have affected the shy black haired girl in the corner. She looked over to the blonde who seemed to calmed down a lot from Brawnz words. She then notices Brawnz helping him up. Jaune walks into the middle of the room next to the three other students.

"All right," Jaune said. "I've calmed down a bit so now I can ask, what exactly is our plan?"

"Why do you care?" Gwen said. Jaune looked over to Gwen, a questioned look on his face. "May is right, why do you care what happens to us? This is your initiation."

"This isn't about my initiation!" Jaune said in a raised voice. "This is about getting us out of here alive. At this point I don't even care if I get accepted. I want all of us to get out of here first." He points at May. "So if you want to keep blaming me for everything, fine. But how about we wait until all of us are safe?" When no one said anything Jaune got back on track. "So, what's the plan?"

"Nolan gets Nebula and Octavia and we get the hell out of here," May said with a smug grin. While she thought it was the best plan ever, Jaune asked a couple of questions.

"Does he know where they are?"

"No, but he'll find them."

"What if they're guarded?"

"He'll trick the bandits."

"Okay, do we have an escape vehicle?"

"We'll get one."

"Do we know where to get one?"

"Again, we'll find one."

Jaune was getting very annoyed at this point. The "plan" was basically improvising everything, which can't even be considered a plan half the time. However, he then realized something. Three prisoners just escaped from their cells.

"Did you guys place a decoy or something so people won't be suspicious that three prisoners escaped?"

May raises an eyebrow. "What's that got to do with anything?"

"Because the minute the bandits find out you girls escaped, the camp goes into an alert, making escaping ten times harder."

May opened her mouth to protest but when she thought about it made sense. However she wouldn't admit defeat, especially not to Jaune. "I… well we… um…"

Jaune just sighed. He looked over to the deceased bandits that everyone killed. "Hey guys," He said as he turned to the group. "I have an idea, but I don't think you girls are going to like it."

"What is it?" Dew said.

"You three are going to be our prisoners."

 **With Nolan:**

Nolan was looking everywhere for Nebula and Octavia. Unfortunately his search proved effortless. The bandit camp was big, almost the size of a regular town. They had an armory, shacks for the bandits to live in, even a bar. But Nolan couldn't find the girls anywhere. He would check the shacks but most of them were locked up and he knew bandits get very protective of their property. So he decided to go to the best place to pick up info.

Nolan entered the bar and noticed a bunch of either drunk or soon to be drunk heathens messing around, despite it only being the middle of the day. Nolan takes a seat at the actual bar. The bartender goes over to him and Nolan gets a good look at him.

He has a buzz cut and brown eyes. He also has tattoos of skulls over his right arm. He wore a black t-shirt and had black jeans on as well. He spoke in a voice that sounded as if he smoked his whole life. "You look new," he said.

"I'm an old friend of Jamison's, thought I'd come for the celebration," Nolan lied.

"How'd you know about it?"

"Jamison let me know. I was heading around here anyway so thought I'd pop in."

"You look a little young to be one of Jamison's friends."

"Doesn't matter, I've helped conduct raids before."

The bartender stared down Nolan and Nolan stared right back, with just as much intensity. Nolan showed no weakness. The bartender shrugs. "Eh, I'm too lazy to find out if you're telling the truth. What do you want?"

"What do you got?"

"Well anything from the camps we raid, sometimes some of us buy real shit in the town next to Shade. But I'll get you an old fashion."

"Sounds good to me."

As the bartender made Nolan's cocktail, he listened in on some of the antics of the other bandits. He knew from experience that some of the bandits' antics can be hilarious since they usually act however they want without getting kicked out.

"I'm not as drunk as you!" one bandit said.

"Nah man, you're drunker than me! The look on your face proves it."

"I can still tell time, can you?!"

"Of course I can!" the one bandit turned to a clock on the wall. "I'm not as think as you drunk I am!" the two bandit's laugh like hyenas at the realization of what the one did.

Nolan looks at another group of bandits who were staring each other. "I'm telling you, mine is bigger."

"Mate mine is so much bigger than yours."

"You want to prove it?!"

"Yeah! I killed eight Picarro bastards that day! What about you huh?"

"Ha! I killed eleven!"

Nolan rolled his eyes at the antics. The bartender gave him his drink and Nolan took it. He raised the glass. "Cheers." He took a sip of the drink and swallowed it. The drink didn't taste like piss water which was a surprise for Nolan. As he set down his drink for a little bit he began questioning. "So, what exactly is the celebration?"

The bartender raised an eyebrow. "I thought you said Junkrat invited you?"

Nolan shrugged. "He did but he didn't exactly give me details just something I would definitely want to see."

The bartender believed his lie. "Yeah sounds like him. Anyway, we captured some Shade students. While some of our girls are fucking the boys, we're giving the girls special treatment?"

"Why not just have the girls stripped and have everyone enjoy it right away?" Nolan felt sick to his stomach to talk about his friends as if they were whores. But he needed to keep up appearances. He just hated how easy it is for him to do this.

"Well you see once Eric saw the girls, he decided to see what they're like and have them do a very special thing for everyone to enjoy this evening."

"Eric?"

"Junkrat's third in command behind Roadhog. He's usually in charge of the town here."

"Still, I wish we didn't have to wait."

"Eh I couldn't care less. But I know most of the guys here get frustrated so I bet they can feel your pain."

Nolan nodded and took another sip of his drink. So if he wanted to get to Nebula and Octavia he would have to get on Eric's good side and fast. He slams his drink and shakes his head. He reaches in his pocket and tosses a few lien on the bar. Luckily the guard a few bills on him otherwise it would've been awkward.

Nolan may be buzzed but he knew better than to get drunk. As he walked out of the bar and looked around. He didn't ask where Eric lived as he didn't want to push his luck. Asking too many questions could get him killed. However, something caught his eyes.

It was three bandits taking May, Dew, and Gwen somewhere with blindfolds somewhere. What got his attention was that three of them weren't bandits: it was Roy, Brawnz and Jaune in bandit outfits. Jaune had Dew, Roy had Gwen, and Brawnz had May. As the three of them each grabbed onto the girls he could hear the whoops and hollers of other bandits.

"Hey, those the girls we captured?"

"Wait until those cloaks are off! I'm gonna show y'all a good time!"

"What Eric'll put you through is nothing compared to what I'm going to do!"

The three of them joked and laughed with the other bandits, but Nolan knew they had something up their sleeves. Luckily Jaune saw Nolan and motioned him to come over. Nolan did and they continued to walk.

"Jaune?" Nolan said in a tiny whisper. "What the fuck is going on?"

"Blondie here had an idea," Dew said. Jaune tightened the grip to keep up appearances in case any of the other bandits heard her.

"What's the plan?"

"Apparently Eric wanted these three right away instead of doing one on ones," Jaune said. "He might be getting bored. Either way, if Octavia and Nebula are with him, then all of the girls will be together and it'll be easier to break them out."

"How do you know about Eric?"

Jaune points his head over to Roy. "Roy told me about the conversation between the two bandits. Look I know it's insane but this is our only chance to escape without raising suspicion until the last minute."

Nolan thought about it but he knew Jaune was right. Having the girls escape would've raised the alarm. At least this will keep them hidden a little while longer. Unless the bodies were found.

"Did you hide the bodies?"

"No, we couldn't risk getting caught. Besides we're still on a small timeframe, even if we did hide them the bandits will eventually find out we escaped. We as in the guys."

While it wasn't good news, not everything could be all sunshine and lollipops. They continue walking across the bandit camp to where Eric was living. Jaune and the others got directions from one of the bandits that was sent to fetch the girls. Luckily they were able to trick them into thinking they were idiots.

They reached the door of a shack and heard the base of music going on inside. Roy, whilst keeping a hand on Gwen, pounded on the door. "Enter!" A voice said.

Roy opens the door and everyone enters one at a time to see a bandit sitting in a chair watching Octavia pole dance. She was wearing a skimpy outfit that showed off her ass and breasts. It was a blue bikini top that barely covered anything with a matching bottom. However the bottom was covered by a thin see through silk skirt. She also had a little black garter on her right thigh. She also wore high heels, something that Octavia despised. A boom box was in a corner playing loudly.

The bandit looks over to the students and grins widely. "So these are the rest of them huh?" he said. He starts eyeing the girls with a very lecherous stare. While this made the guys uncomfortable, they knew better than to show signs of it. At least three of them did. Jaune subconsciously tensed up and tightened his grip around Dew's arm. While it was a small movement, it didn't go unnoticed by Eric.

"What's your problem?" He pointed to Jaune.

"Uhh…" was all that came from Jaune's mouth. Luckily for him a saving grace was coming. His vision started turning red again and he felt a headache coming on. He grips his forehead and begins rubbing it slightly. He let go of Dew and drops to his hands and knees. All of a sudden a bunch of text showed up in his eyes.

" _ **Scanning area: please hold."**_

Dew pretended to try and run away but Nolan grabbed her and slammed her against the wall. "Where the fuck do you think you're going bitch?" Nolan yelled in her face. He then turns to Jaune. "Hey man, you feeling all right?"

"Just feeling a little sick," Jaune said. Then his vision turned a shade of purple. The text then changes.

" _ **Scanning for creatures with Aura."**_

Jaune looks up and notices a yellowish glow coming from in front of him. He stands up and looks at his friends and realize all of them are glowing a weird color. He then turns to Octavia, who was still dancing for some weird reason, and she was glowing slightly too. He noticed that there seemed to be a trail of a different colored glow coming from her head over to Eric, who also had the same color glow as the trail.

Eric stood up and walked over to Jaune. "What are you high or something?" he asked the blonde.

"Uhh… I think I might be."

Eric sighed. "All right, you." He pointed at Nolan. "Give me her and help this guy to his feet. Get him to his shack or get him more fucked up I don't care." Nolan hands Eric Dew and grips her ten times tighter than Jaune or Nolan did, causing her to groan a little. As Nolan held up Jaune, Eric felt her up a little and chuckles. "Not bad. You two," he said as he pointed to Roy and Brawnz. "Take them and follow me."

"Jaune what's wrong?" Nolan whispered. Jaune looked around to see what was going on.

"Oh yeah and you," Eric said pointing to Octavia. Jaune noticed the glow from Eric shot from his finger and at Octavia. "Stop dancing and follow me."

Octavia did as she was told and nodded. "Yes master," she said. This surprised everyone in the room, sans Eric. However everyone did as they were told and split up again.

 **With Nolan and Jaune:**

Nolan helped Jaune by having him rest against his shoulder as they walked out of the shack. They kept walking until they made sure no one was nearby and began talking. "What the fuck Jaune?!" Nolan said in a harsh whisper. "You almost blew our cover!" Jaune's sight returned to normal and he didn't feal as weak anymore.

"Nolan, are you telling me the room didn't change color for you guys?" Jaune said.

"No, why?"

"Something's weird with me, I keep seeing the room change colors and text shows up." Nolan looked around to be extra sure no one would be suspicious.

"Okay look, you obviously have something planned, would you mind telling me about it?" Jaune nodded. "You need help? You looked a little sickly."

"No I'm fine. Whatever it was it's gone now."

"Right, well whatever it was it can wait. Right now I need to know your plan."

"Right right. Okay so here's the thing. We have a small time frame before someone checks up on the guy's cell. Once they find the bodies this camp is most likely to go on alert. It'll make escaping ten times harder. So first thing's first we had to make it seem like the girls are still under control. And since Eric called for all of them they'll all be put in the same area for us to save them, assuming this huge celebration involves them."

"What if they're separated?"

"Well Brawnz and Roy are trying to get in good with Eric to make sure they always know where the girls are. I'm sure they'll be able to stay close to him. Meanwhile, you and I are going to get two things."

"What are they?"

"First thing is keys. We need to find an escape vehicle and be sure it works and can get us out of here. We might need two in case all of us don't fit in one. The other thing is our weapons. The bandit girl you interrogated said they would be in the armory right?" Nolan nodded. "Well we need to get into the armory and find our weapons. Once we do that, we meet up with Brawnz and Roy, get the girls and get out of dodge."

"What about our clothes?"

"We'll have to run back to the cells and get them since we didn't have a place to put them, so they're still in the prison."

"Didn't really think that through huh?"

"We're on a timer here Nolan, we didn't have time to perfect everything." Nolan sighed. This wouldn't be easy. It was a miracle that no one recognized them yet, but then again only Junkrat and Roadhog and that other bandit were probably the only ones who saw them.

"All right, these guys have to have a garage around here somewhere. Let's do this." Jaune nodded and they both continue on their jobs.

 **With Roy, Brawnz, and the girls:**

Eric unlocked a door to what looked like a fitting room. Eric enters the room. He then shoves Dew to the ground and motions the others to enter. He hands Roy a gun. "Keep them under control, I have to put the red head with her friend." Roy nodded his head while keeping a grip on Gwen. "Let's go," Eric said to Octavia.

"Yes sir," Octavia said in a sexual way. The two exit the room and close the door behind them. Roy and Brawnz let go of Gwen and May, who remove the blindfolds. The girls help Dew to her feet and everyone looks at each other.

"What the hell is wrong with Oct?" Dew asked.

"She wouldn't submit that easily," Gwen stated.

"She has to be drugged or something," Roy said. "You guys see the way she looked at him. It was with lust. There is no way Octavia would feel lust for a bandit right?" Gwen and Dew shake their head. "Okay so we know they're controlling Octavia somehow but where's Nebula?"

"That's your guy's job for his 'master plan'" May said with quotes. "We're just bait."

"Suck it up," Brawnz said, getting annoyed with his teammate's behavior. "Right now just to do what he says while we try to convince him to tell us what the plan are for tonight, maybe even find Nebula."

All of them heard footsteps approaching and Roy held the gun up to them while Brawnz pretended to be guarding the door. The door opens to reveal Eric with a few Syringes in his hands.

"What's with the needles boss?" Brawnz asked.

"Well, you idiots obviously didn't drug the girls so now I have to," He said. "Let's see… eyepatch is up first."

"Fuck you!" May said, getting in a combat stance. However Brawnz grabs her arm and slams her to the wall. Eric then sticks the needle in her neck and injects her. the light from May's eyes seem to dull a little bit. Brawnz lets go of her and she falls to the ground.

"You want to make it hard on me?" Eric said turning to Gwen and Dew. "Cause if so I'll have him open fire." He pointed his head to Roy, who slid the slid the gun slide and pointed it at the girls. The two of them backed up a little bit. "Good." Eric smiled. "Black hair is next."

Brawnz nodded and approached Gwen. He grabs her and drags her over to Eric, who injects her with another needle. She looks a little weary and drops to the floor too. The last one was Dew, which went the same way as Gwen did. Once all of the girls were drugged, Eric turned to Brawnz and Roy. "By the way, did you really think I wouldn't recognize you?"

"What do you mean?" Brawnz said.

"I'm third in command, you really think Junkrat wouldn't show me what our prisoners looked like?" Brawnz and Roy go wide eyed. Roy aims the gun at Eric who seems unfazed by it. "Shoot me, and you alarm the entire camp." Brawnz and Roy scowl at Eric, who had a smug grin on his face. Brawnz cracks his knuckles.

"Forget this I'll just beat you to death," Brawnz said.

"I don't think those two would like that," Eric said pointing to the door behind them.

"Roy, check to see if he's fucking with us."

Roy did as he said and saw that he wasn't bluffing. "Nebula, Octavia?"

Brawnz turns around to see that Roy was telling the truth. However their eyes looked weird and dull, and they were wearing outfits to make it look as if they were strippers. Octavia was still the same but Nebula's was a little different. She was wearing a black lowcut shirt that stopped below her breasts, almost as if it was a sports bra, and wore a purple bikini bottom. she was also wearing thigh high translucent socks with black heels. As the two were distracted by their friends, Eric used this opportunity to grab Brawnz and choke him out.

"Brawnz!" Roy said he pointed the gun at Eric but the bandit ordered a command.

"Drug him!"

Roy felt arms go around him and put him in a hold. He looks up to realize that Nebula had put him in a hold and that Octavia had a needle. "Girls what are you doing?!"

They don't respond and continue drugging him.

"What the hell did you do?" Brawnz choked out.

"Nothing, they just know what it's like to be with me. Isn't that right girls?"

"Yes master," They said in unison. Brawnz tries to elbow Eric and succeeds. However Nebula pounced on him and tackled him. She raised a fist and then punched him in the face and Octavia slowly moved forward to stick another needle in Brawnz. Nebula was going to punch Brawnz again but he caught her fist.

"Nebula it's me! Snap out of it!" Nebula growled at him and got off him. He slowly crawled away only to crawl into Eric who curb stomped him. Brawnz covers his face and groans in pain. That was until he felt a prick in the side of his neck.

His vision goes blurry and darker by each passing second. He hears Eric mumbling something but he can't quite make out what he is saying. And soon Brawnz passes out.

Eric looks at the bodies around him and sighs. "What a mess," he says. He points at Nebula and Octavia. "You two, get the girls changed up, I'll deal with these idiots."

"Yes sir," They said. As Nebula and Octavia walked past Eric he slapped their asses and then went to work. He picked up Brawnz and Roy by their collar and began dragging them.

 **To be continued.**

 **Special thanks to my Beta Reader: TheShadowOfZama**


	9. Chapter 9

**With Jaune and Nolan:**

The two of them walked to the garage of the bandit base. Since the vehicles needed to be able to get out of the base quickly the garages were located at the entrances and exits of the camp. The one they were at was the main entrance. As they entered the garage they could hear the sound of hammers, blowtorches, drills and all sorts of tools being at work. The sight of the bandit's creating and modifying their cars and buggies could be seen. They can hear other bandits yelling at others for supplies.

"OI! Yuri! I need more metal panels for the buggy!"

"Can someone bring me more screws?"

"Hey this one still needs fuel! I asked for that shit an hour ago!"

Nolan and Jaune walked around looking for someone who looked to be in charge. They wouldn't find them right away as one of the bandits called them out. "Yo, what are doing in here? Never seen you before!"

Jaune and Nolan turn to their left to see a bandit with a welders mask on approaching them. He also had on overalls which were dirty and greasy from working on the vehicles. He stops in front of them but doesn't remove the mask. "Well? You're not part of the mechanics team so why are you here?"

"We're here to get keys to a couple vehicles," Jaune said. "Junkrat wants us to guard around the base during the celebration."

"Really? Ah that's gotta suck. So, what kind of vehicles you need?"

"Do you have one that can hold nine people?" Nolan asked. "We're asking for our entire squad."

"Well, the van we used during the raid on Picaro is still broken but I have a custom truck that can carry six people, one of which is a gunner. I can also lend a buggy that can carry four people. Will that be okay?"

"That would be perfect," Jaune answered.

"All right, I'll get you the keys and you can look at them."

Jaune and Nolan nod and the bandit walks away. When they made sure no one was in earshot they began discussing again in a low whisper.

"Nolan, you any good at driving?" Jaune asked.

"I've done a little bit yeah," Nolan said. "What about you?"

"No, not really. I don't even think i'll be able to help you guys during the escape." Nolan turned to Jaune and raised an eyebrow.

"Why?"

"I uh… I get motion sickness…" There is a beat and then Nolan's eyes go wide. He then sighs.

"Well, at least you warned me about it. Should we bring a bucket for you?" Nolan had a smug smile while Jaune let out out a fake laugh. The bandit comes back and tossed the keys at Jaune and Noloan. Both of them catch one and he motions with his head for them to follow him. Nolan and Jaune do just that.

After walking around the garages for a little bit, they are met with their vehicles. "All right, you can check them out," The bandit said. He points back into another section of the garage. "I have to get back to work, don't break anything before you set off, I don't want even more work."

"All right, thanks for it," Jaune said the bandit nodded and left the two of them.

"Let's check out the truck first," Nolan said. Jaune agreed and they go over to it. The first thing they noticed was the small turret that laid on the roof of the car. It also had tires with spikes sticking out from the rims and the body had a bunch of metal plates on it for extra armor. Nolan tried to unlock it with his key first, which proved to be ineffective. So Jaune used his and unlocked the driver door. Jaune looks inside to see the armrest of the car has been removed. He also noticed the roof window had been removed, obviously to make room for the turret that lay on top of it. Nolan hops in the back and stands to be in the gunner's position.

Nolan got a good look and saw how they placed the turret. They added a circular ring on the top of the car to make it so the turret could spin in a 360 degree angle, while giving the gunner full control over it as well. Nolan opened the bullet holder for the turret and took a look inside the lid. It said it could at max two hundred rounds. Knowing they would need to get a few more than two hundred rounds, Nolan made a mental note about grabbing a few extra cases for the turret.

Jaune meanwhile looked around the car inside and out for and made a mental note of each thing. While he may not know a lot about cars, he knows he needs to make sure there would be enough room for a few people, and room for their supplies and weapons. While the seats were relatively the same, there wasn't enough for six people. So Jaune opened the back of the truck. There was no seat there but it had room to fit another human in there. The thing was, there were no seat belts, restraints or anything. So Jaune decided he had to make one.

Luckily they were in a garage with the right tools needed. Jaune looked around for rope, bungee cords, anything that could keep someone securely in place. Meanwhile, Nolan got out of the truck and saw Jaune walk around looking for something.

"What'cha doing Jaune?" Nolan asked the blonde.

"While the truck can hold six people, the sixth person isn't exactly the safest, especially with what I'm planning. I'm looking for stuff that could keep them in place."

"What exactly are you planning?"

"I…" a group of bandits came walking by talking so Jaune had to make it sound like they weren't escaping. "I want to have the back opened during patrol so we can have someone watching our backs while we patrol. Not to mention have the extra firepower."

Nolan understood what Jaune wanted but didn't think it was a good idea. "Jaune I think we need to keep the back closed. We already have a turret do we really need another one that puts the person in the back in unnecessary risk?" Jaune thought about it.

"You're right, we probably need more defense then

Both continued doing their job. Nolan saw the buggy and had to admit one thing about the bandits they know how to salvage and create stuff from junk. The buggy didn't have a turret like the truck, but it was just as reinforced as the truck. No to mention the rear chairs were faced backwards for them to keep an eye on the back. All in all it was a pretty nice vehicle.

Nolan gets in the driver's seat of the buggy and starts it up. He looks at the fuel to realize they even fueled it up. Basically other than the truck's backseat everything was pretty much got out of the buggy and then pocketed the keys.

Just as he got out he saw Jaune exit the van and closed the back door. He wipes his hands off of each other and looks to Nolan. "Ready to get the gear?"

"Yeah, is the seatbelt installed?"

"Yep, we're good to go."

"All right, let's get our shit."

The two leave the garage, and walk to the armory. Along the way they hear some of the bandits talking about what they would want to do to the girls. It made both of them a little nausea how much details some of them went into. And with the sun going down any minute they knew their time was running out.

They reached the armory building and looked at it. the place was wide and long and had two stories. "Must be a lot of weapons in there," Jaune commented.

"This place is like a town," Nolan said. "Of course they'd have a big arsenal."

"Yeah it's a town full of rapist and murderers. An utopia if I ever heard of one," Jaune said sarcastically. As the two walked in the building Nolan gave Jaune a weird look, a look that didn't go unnoticed. "What?"

"Did you just say 'an utopia'?"

"Well yeah isn't that how it's supposed to go?"

"I mean in the technical sense you're right but I'm pretty sure it's 'a utopia,' not 'an utopia.'"

"Are we seriously going to have this discussion as we're trying to get weapons?"

"Hey you said it not me, so you're looking to save your own ass."

As the two continued to bicker they entered the armory and continued searching for their weapons. They entered a room and saw that it was only assault rifles and shotguns in the room but they decided to search it just be safe. Throughout the entire time they continued to argue.

"What, did you learn that from your mother or something?" Nolan said jokingly. Jaune picking up the sarcasm in his voice pretended to be offended. He did the stereotypical hand on chest movement.

"You leave my mother out of this!"

When they realized that their weapons weren't in there they went to the next room. Again, no weapons. However the conversation somehow shifted to who would win in a fight, an ursa or a beowolf… somehow.

"I'm telling you an Ursa's strength is what's going to keep it alive!" Nolan said.

"But beowolves travel in packs, giving the significant advantage over loner Ursas."

"Dickhead! We're talking about a one-on-one here! Besides Ursa travel in packs too!"

The two continue arguing until a female bandit with a shotgun came around the corner. "Oi what you doing here?" she asked.

The two continued arguing for a few seconds before Jaune held up a finger in Nolan's face. He then turns to the bandit and began speaking. "Yeah we're looking for the new prisoners' weapon. We heard they were huntsmen and just want see the weird hybrid crap they have."

"Why?"

"We want to see if we can use them during patrol."

"Right now?"

"No during the celebration. We got stuck with it."

"Ouch, that's harsh." The bandit looked at them and gained a lecherous smile. "Besides the celebration's a push over anyway right?" Jaune raised an eyebrow to this. The tone of her voice changed drastically in a matter of seconds. After growing up in a house full of women, Jaune knew that signifies something either very horrible or very good. Mostly horrible since he was the one that got hurt after his sisters had that tone change.

"How about I join the two of you on patrol?" She said in a flirtatiously manner. "I can make sure you guys don't miss anything from celebration." She leans a little closer to them, particularly Jaune. "And I mean, anything."

"Uh… I… uh…" Was all Jaune could sputter out. His face had grown very red from blushing. Thankfully Nolan had his back.

"As much fun as that would be," he said. "Eric said he'd chop our nuts off if he caught us fucking other bandits again." The bandit groaned.

"He's such a killjoy," She said. "Ah well, if you ever change your mind just keep this in mind."

"Keep what―" Jaune was cut off by the bandit force kissing Jaune. She stops after a second and tells them where their weapons were. She then walks by them, slapping Jaune's ass as she passed by. Jaune and Nolan process what happened. Once they did they each had something to say. "Why is every bandit horny?"

"Why is every girl bandit horny for you?!" Nolan said.

"You can't blame me for that!" the two walk to where the bandit told them their weapons were being held.

"I can and I will."

"Why would you even want them to have… to do it with you in the first place?"

"Do I want it to happen? No, but I also don't want to be ignored because you're around!"

"You think I like that!? Have you seen me? I can't talk in situations like that!"

"Yeah you were a real lady killer."

Jaune growled at the sarcasm that was in Nolan's voice. "Don't start with the nicknames, I've had too many of them back at Beacon." They reached the door that held their weapons. A guard with a shotgun stopped them.

"Where do you think you're going?" the guard asked.

"Junkrat wanted us to get the shape shifting hunter weapons for some reason," Nolan said.

"Why?"

"Do we look like the type of people who know why?" Jaune asked. "We're just doing what we're told.

"All right," the guard said with his hands up. "Don't have to be a dick about it." the guard unlocks the door and lets them enter. When they do it's a room filled with not only their own weapons,, but a bunch of others too. Unconventional ones at that.

There was a minigun sitting in the middle of the room with a belt of bullets over to the side of it. Next to it appeared to be a flamethrower and a very creepy gas mask. Next to that was butterfly knife with a ski mask. Next to that was a billiard ball tied onto what looked like a piece of weaved rope. Nolan goes over and starts swinging the billiard ball around.

"Hey Jaune, think I should keep this one?" Nolan said as he swung it. Jaune chuckled as Nolan began doing flashier moves. However Nolan accidently lossed his grip and it flew across the room and hit Jaune right in the groin. Nolan put his hands to his mouth as Jaune's pupils shrunk. Jaune grabs his parts and falls to his knees.

"I think I'll keep my normal gear."

"Yeah... I agree," Jaune moaned out. As Jaune recovered from the surprise attack, Nolan began taking everything they needed. Nolan grabbed his baton and strapped it on his right hip, grabbed Octavia's sword and put it on his left hip, and Roy's sawblades on his wrists. He was going to grab Gwen's gear but realized it wouldn't be that easy as she had a bunch of little knives. He exits the room to find a bag for all of her knives.

Once Jaune recovered, he began to take the rest of their weapons. Jaune had his sword on his left hip, Nebula's sword/crossbow on his right hip in sword form, Brawnz's gauntlets on his wrists, May's sniper strapped over his left shoulder, and Dew's spear strapped over his right shoulder.

Nolan returned with a large ammo bag and began packing Gwen's knives into the pack. Jaune goes over and helps him pack. Once they were packed they exited the room."Okay, anything else we need?" Jaune asked.

"We need ammo for the turret on the truck," Nolan said. "Also some food and water for the road." The two walk around the building, occasionally peaking into a room to see if it was an ammo room. They found a room filled with grenades and what looked to be C4. They took a few dust grenades just be safe. Eventually they find the ammo room and enter it.

The room had a bunch of crates in it filled with bullets both dust and regular ones. As they began packing the turret ammo, Nolan grabbed a couple of sniper magazines for May. This prompted Jane to see if there were any Crossbow bolts for Nebula. As they packed Jaune had a question. "Do we even know where this camp is located?"

"No, so I guess getting a map would help."

"Assuming these guys know how to make one." Nolan frowned a little at the comment.

"Hey bandits can be pretty crafty you know," he said.

"I'm not denying that, but most of these guys don't have maps so others can't find their camp right?"

"Yeah, I guess."

Once they were sure that they had everything they zipped up the ammo bag and began to leave the building. Once they did, Jaune asked Nolan a question.

"Should we put this stuff in the buggy and truck or hang onto it?"

Nolan was going to answer until he saw bandits running around. They heard them screaming something but couldn't quite make it out. Jaune and Nolan run over and stop a couple of bandits and ask what's going on.

"A couple of prisoners escape," one said. "So Eric's doing a public execution."

"Oh man I can't wait to see the brutality of this one!" the other bandit said. The two continue running with Nolan and Jaune behind them. They see a crowd gathering but they also see Brawnz and Roy with a bunch of guards with blunt and sharp weapons surrounding them on what looked like a stage. Jaune and Nolan look at each other.

"This can't be good," Jaune said.

"Gee, no shit!" Nolan said. "What do we do?"

Jaune paced around for a minute thinking of a plan. When he finally got one he snapped his fingers. "I got it."

"What?"

"Just follow me!"

Jaune runs back to the armory with Nolan behind him.

 **With Roy and Brawnz:**

The two students of Shade had their hands zip tied behind them. They could easily break out of them, but with the guards circling them and the crowd that was gathering, breaking out would be a death sentence. Brawnz looks around the crowd hoping to see Jaune and/or Nolan anywhere. However the crowd is so dense he can't find the two of them anywhere. At this rate they would soon be dead.

"Brawnz," Roy whispered. "What do we do?"

"I'm thinking, I'm thinking," Brawnz said. While the two could probably take out the guards around them, the crowd definitely had weapons on them. Brawnz's only thing he could think of was keep talking so they wouldn't die. Basically stall until a real plan popped in his head.

Eric walks in front of the two students and puts his hand up to calm down the crowd and everyone slowly got quieter. Brawnz looked at Eric to see a small smile creep on his face seeing the power he had over the bandits. That was when Brawnz got an idea.

"Roy, follow my lead," He said to his friend. Roy nodded his head and waited for Brawnz to make his move.

"Now," Eric said as he began to pace around. "I know that we promised a celebration later today and I promise you that it will still happen. However it seems these two here didn't want a party!" The crowd boos at Brawnz and Roy. "They thought they would steal our property that we rightfully stole! Because they were their 'friends' or 'it was the right thing to do.'" Again more boos. "And what's even better, is that they thought they could sneak them from right under our noses."

Eric takes out a revolver and begins loading it. He turns to Roy and Brawnz and crouches down in front of them. "Is there anything our friends here have to say?"

"We were idiots thinking we would get passed you," Brawnz said. This caused Eric to take a step back.

"Weird, most peoples' last words insult me."

"Why would we?" Roy asked, seeing where Brawnz was going. "We underestimated you. If anything this is basically karma biting us in the ass."

Eric smiles and stands up. "I like you two, you seem… mature compared to some of our other prisoners. And that's saying something seeing as how one of our last prisoners was a 54 year old man. He begged and begged after trying to escape, crying and pissing everywhere. But you two? You accept it like men. I like that… no I respect that!" Eric pauses for a moment before point the gun at Brawnz head. "Well, if it wasn't for the fact that you were trying too hard." Eric motions up with the gun. Brawnz feels a bandit go to him and lift him to his feet. Eric walks over and puts the gun right into Brawnz's face.

"How stupid do you think I am? I'm smarter than you, and I don't like it when some boy thinks he's smarter than me." Eric points the gun right into Brawnz's shin. "So I'm going to take my time with you two."

A gunshot is is fired from the gun and a sharp pain shot through Brawnz right leg. He lets out a yell and grabs his leg. Meanwhile Roy yelled out for his leader and friend. He broke free from the zip ties and tried to attack Eric only to be pistol whipped. he falls to the floor and feels Eric's hand cover his face.

"Let's see how you like this," Eric said in a menacing voice. Eric's aura surrounds his hand. However Roy kicked Eric in the stomach causing the bandit to get off of him, dropping the revolver in the process. Roy takes the gun and shoots Eric in the head. He then turns to his friend.

"Brawnz lets..." He discovers that Brawnz is nowhere to be seen. In fact, there seems to be no one around. Even Eric's body disappeared. All of a sudden Roy felt something itch on the skin of his arm. He scratches it as he continues looking on. However as the itch doesn't go away he looks at to reveal a lump moving around in his skin. Roy slams down on the lump but it does nothing as it seemed to have moved around in his arm some more. that was when he felt another one on his other arm. another lump is there causing not only an itching feeling but actual pain.

Roy begins to scream as more and more lump appeared out of nowhere. finally one decided to burst out of the skin to reveal a beetle. The beetle flies away into a fire that was starting to surround Roy. he looks in fear as the fire grows closer and closer. he tried to move but it was as if his legs were glued to the ground. Roy began shaking with fear and let out a terrified scream.

* * *

Some of the bandits watch and laugh as Roy screams and Brawnz trembles in pain, while others just stare in shock. Brawnz was about to get up and attack Eric but Eric put a boot in Brawnz face. However one of the guards stepped in.

"Eric enough lets end this," He said. Eric looked at the bandit as if he was crazy.

"Why? They could have escaped!" Eric explained. "We could have lost our home because of them it seems fair to me that they be punished."

"Punishment is quick and to the point. This? I don't even know what this is! Why go through the hassle of torturing?"

"Because I want them to go to hell, screaming for mercy, as their punishment. And if there is an afterlife, they'll remember who put them there." The guard doesn't say anything, and then turns around. "Just like how the men will remember this."

The guard begins to turn around. "What are you talking ab-" Two gunshots are heard and the bandit falls to the ground. Eric was pointing a revolver at the bandit's body. He holsters it and goes over to the body and stomps the bandit's head in. After he is done he clears his throat. "How's that for an idiot? Making me waste the aura piercing bullet on your dumb ass…" the other bandits stare in a quiet horror to see how Eric had no remorse for doing what he did. He then turns to the rest of the guards. "Anyone else want to end up like him? No? Then shut up and follow my directions."

Brawnz continued to grip his leg and put pressure on the bullet wound, while Roy kept screaming in fear and agony. However an explosion is heard and everyone looks to where it came from. Smoke is coming from a building until another explosion goes off. Metal wood and ash fall from the sky. "Was that the armory?!" someone yells the crowd begins to panic. Eric however, scowls and grabs Brawnz by the collar.

"What did you do?!" he said. He places his hand on Brawnz's face. "Tell the truth! Or I'll make you experience your worst nightmare!"

All of a sudden there was a blinding light and what sounded like a gun going off. Brawnz ears began to ring and he covers them. Roy stopped screaming and covered his ears as well. It seemed his mind was snapped out of the nightmare it was enduring. Just as they recovered there was another blinding light and deafening sound causing everyone nearby to be disoriented. After a few seconds everything became clear or foggy in this case.

Smoke was surrounding everyone on the stage, not to mention some of it made them cough. Brawnz looks around to find the bandits panic as smoke grenades filled the area. Roy got up kicked Eric off the stage. He then helps Brawnz, who leans on Roy for support.

"What's happening?!" Brawnz asked.

"I don't know! I think it's Jaune and Nolan!"

A group of explosions is heard from all around, the screams of bandits can also be heard. Roy and Brawnz try to navigate in the smoke but don't get so far as a familiar taste of a gas enters their systems. Both of them fall to the ground coughing. They could feel themselves slip into unconsciousness. They notice a few bandits beside them have already succumbed to the gas.

As both of them gasp for air that isn't filled with gas and smoke, an unpleasant thought goes through their heads: Jaune and Nolan ditched them. Brawnz and Roy look at each other and know they're thinking about the same thing. Their vision begins to blur and darkens.

All of a sudden they both feel something strap around their heads and onto their faces. All of a sudden fresh air is coming into their systems. Jaune goes in front of Brawnz and Nolan goes in front Roy and helps them. They see that the two of them have gas masks on and realized that's what they put on their faces.

"Are you guys okay?" Jaune asks.

"I got shot in the leg what do you think?" Brawnz asked. Jaune notices the wound on Brawnz's leg. He lets Brawnz hang onto him as they began running through the smoke and gas with the gas masks over their faces.

"Where are we heading?" Roy asked.

"Eric's shack! We're getting the girls and getting the fuck out of here!" Nolan said. None of them stopped moving at any second. Debris from the armory kept falling and the sound of the explosions the two made can still be heard.

They reached the shack and entered it. Nolan slams the door behind them and holds his back against it. Meanwhile Jaune slowly put Brawnz on the couch that Eric had. Everyone takes a minute to catch their breath.

"So… now what?" Roy asked.

 **To be continued.**

 **Beta Reader: TheShadowOfZama**


	10. Chapter 10

"So… now what?" Roy asked.

"Now?" Jaune said. He began to unstrap all of the weapons he had on him except for his own sword. He then unstrapped the gas mask around his face as did everyone else. "Now we focus on finding the girls and tending to Brawnz." Jaune looks at the wound on Brawnz's leg and gets squeamish. He shudders and turns to Roy who was leaning over trying to catch his breath.

"Roy, how did Brawnz get shot?"

"The bastard had aura piercing rounds," he said. Roy was pacing around nervously trying to calm himself down. He was still trying to figure out what Eric did to him.

"Okay okay," Jaune said. He looks at the other side of Brawnz's leg to look for an exit wound and finds one. "Okay the bullet went through but we need to put pressure on the wound and elevate it."

"Can't his aura take care of it?" Nolan asked. Jaune examined the wound and could see Brawnz's aura trying to reach the wound but it stopped mere inches from the skin.

"Looks like the bullet stops aura regeneration. We need to put pressure on the wound before he bleeds out."

"Bleed out?!" Brawnz repeated, wide eyed. "I'm gonna die?!"

Jaune put his hand on his friend's shoulder to try and comfort him."Brawnz relax, you're just scared."

"No shit I'm scared!" Brawnz yelling moved him a little bit, causing his wound to bleed a little bit more. Brawnz recoils and Jaune pulled his arms into his sleeves and covered both wounds to stop Brawnz from losing too much blood.

"Roy, find blankets, towels, hell even shirts or something to help with the bleeding."

"On it." The dark skinned student looks for the stuff Jaune asked for.

"Nolan, look around this shack for secret entrances, the girls are here I know it!"

"You got it," He said. The red head removes the weapons from him except for his own and began to look around for secret levers, buttons, anything. He tears pictures off the wall, and moves furniture around. Jaune removes the belt from his pants and ties it at the bend of Brawnz's knee. He tightens the belt causing Brawnz to groan.

"Do you have to keep it that tight you bastard?!" he yelled.

"It's to slow the blood flow Brawnz, can you still bend it?"

"Yeah, but still!"

Roy comes back with a pile of clothes for Brawnz's wound. They were mainly t-shirts. "Here, will these works?" he asked Jaune.

"Yeah, tie it around his leg and make sure you get both wounds. Use all of them to keep as much blood in him as possible." Roy began to roll up a shirt so it could be tied around Brawnz's leg. Once he was ready he nodded for Jaune. "Okay be quick on this. One, two, three!"

Jaune removes his sleeved hands and a little bit of blood came out, but Roy was able to react in time to tie the rolled up shirt around the wounds. Blood seeped through the shirt and Jaune put pressure on the wound again. As Roy got another piece of clothing, Jaune called out to the red head.

"Nolan, any luck?" There is a loud bang coming from another room that Nolan was searching. "Nolan what was that?"

"Nothing!" the red head yelled back. "I thought there was a door behind the closet so I threw it to the ground. Also no luck…"

"Well don't destroy the house too much, this place looks like it's on its last legs." Nolan blows a raspberry. They tie another shirt around Brawnz leg to keep soaking the blood. "All right, Can you take it from here Roy?"

"Yeah," Roy said as he nodded. Jaune stood up and Roy added one more cloth to the wound and put pressure on the wound "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to help Nolan look for the girls."

With that, Jaune began looking for any sign of the girls as well. After a few minutes of searching they found nothing. Nolan and Jaune look at each other. "I found nothing you?" Nolan asked.

"Me either," Jaune responded.

"So the girls aren't here?" Roy asked.

"Jaune you're an idiot!" Brawnz said. "Of course they wouldn't be here. The bandits obviously moved them!" This caused everyone in the room to stare in disbelief. This was the first time Brawnz attacked Jaune throughout the entire initiation. However Jaune knew it was just because he was shot but that didn't mean the impact wasn't as harsh.

Jaune stepped away for a minute to clear his head. He takes a deep breath. He knows the bandits are looking for them and it's only a matter of time before they are found. He took a minute to think about the time Eric had to put Roy and Brawnz in restraints and hide the girls. He could tell the bandit would put them somewhere that only he would know to keep the surprise for the others, and walking them around the camp to a secret spot wouldn't be a good idea, as others could follow them.

Not to mention Nolan and Jaune were only gone for about twenty minutes. He highly doubted that they were discovered right away, so maybe about fifteen minutes. Was that truly enough time to hide the girls away from his house while keeping Brawnz and Roy on lockdown?

"Brawnz may be right, but I need to be sure," Jaune said aloud. He goes through his head to make sure that they went through ever possibility of a secret entrance somewhere. Jaune looked over at the couch and realized one place they didn't look.

Jaune goes over to the floors on his hands and knees and looks at the legs of the couch. He then looks at the floor and notices scuff marks. "Jaune," Roy said. "What are doing?"

"Help me move this couch," Jaune said. The three of them look at each other but Roy does what he was told. "Count of three: one, two, three!"

They move the couch to the side and Jaune looks around at the floor. "Jaune!" Brawnz yelled. He looks up at his injured friend. "What the hell man?"

"We've check everywhere except under the couch it has to be around here. There were scuff marks on the floor so the door had to be underneath the couch."

"Jaune maybe he remodeled or something," Nolan said.

"I know they're here!"

"Dude, the girls aren't here they have to be somewhere else."

Jaune was knocking on the wood floor and BRNZ minus May huddled around the couch. "What the hell is going on with him?" Nolan asked.

"I don't know," Brawnz said. "Look guys I'm not going to lie, maybe bringing Jaune to Shade wasn't a good idea."

"What?" Roy said in a whisper. "Why are you thinking that now?"

"He got me shot! The girls are captured as part of his plan and we lost them!"

The three continued to discuss unaware that Jaune was hearing everything. Of course that was just because they weren't really whispering. The thing is, he knew they were right. Everything that happened was because of his carelessness. But he couldn't get caught up in it he had to find the girls and he knew Eric would be someone who wanted them as close as possible.

Eventually Jaune's knocking lead to something. A piece of the wood sounded hollow. He knocked it few times and knew there was something there. "Guys, listen to this," Jaune said. The three of them turn to jaunt who knocked on the separate pieces of wood.

"One sounds hollow," Roy concluded.

"Right so there has to be something there right?"

"Okay so the lever has to be somewhere nearby," Roy said. As Roy and Jaune looked for another lever, Nolan went over and picked up May's sniper rifle.

"You finding anything Roy?" Jaune asked

"No you?"

Jaune wouldn't be able to answer because Nolan yelled and slammed May's sniper rifle axe first into the wooden area. The wood breaks to reveal a ladder that leads down to a basement. He takes out the sniper and sets it down to the side. Meanwhile everyone just stares at Nolan, who shrugged.

"I uh… found the switch," Nolan commented. Everyone gives him an are-you-serious look.

They shake it off and Jaune took command again. "Okay Nolan, stay here and help Brawnz, Roy you're with me."

"Jaune, how do we know they are down there?" Roy asked. Jaune thought about it for a minute. It could be a trap.

"We don't, but we have to make sure." Roy sighed and nodded. "I'll take point."

Jaune knocks some of the splintered wood out of the way and began to climb the ladder down. Roy follows behind him as Nolan keeps tending to Brawnz.

Jaune feels the solid floor. He turns around and takes out his sword. Roy followed Jaune and got his saws ready. They see the Nebula and Octavia sitting in the middle of a room and begin running towards them. "Girls!" Jaune yelled. He reached the end of the hallway only to be met with an object hitting him the face.

Roy stopped and got into a fighting stance as Jaune hit the ground. The person who hit Jaune turned the corner and was going to whip a chain at Roy. That was until they noticed who it was.

"Roy?" the familiar voice of May called out.

"May?" Roy called out.

"Wait, it's the guys?" the voice of Dew said. Dew and Gwen come from the circular room to see Roy and Jaune.

"Oops," May said as she looked down at Jaune. "My bad."

"Why is it always me?" Jaune moaned out. Roy helped the blonde up and both of them enter the room. It had chains on the walls and what looked like a chem lab at the end of it, obviously where Eric makes his drugs.

As Jaune recovered he shook his head and looked at the girls. "How'd you girls break out?"

"Well…" Dew started.

* * *

Dew woke up to feel someone strapping her arms above her head. She clears her head of the cobwebs to see Nebula doing the work, still in her stripper gear. "Neb?" Dew said. Nebula doesn't respond. "Why are you doing this?" Again, no response from her.

"She's doing it because I said so," a voice said. Dew looks past Nebula and saw Eric spinning a revolver around his finger. Dew glared at the bandit who just chuckled. "Go ahead and glare at me. After I'm done dealing with your friends, I'm going to make sure you're going to staring at me very differently." He chuckles and stops spinning the revolver. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have some Shade student's I need to make into corpses." He has a wicked smile on his face as he said that. The smile made the girls' skin crawl. He begins to leave the room. "When you're done chaining them up guard the hallway."

"Yes sir," Nebula and Octavia said. Dew looked to where Octavia's voice was coming from to notice she was hanging Gwen the same way Dew was being hung. She looks to her right to see May already hung up.

"I'll see you all in a little bit!" Eric said. He climbs up the ladder and leaves the room. Once Octavia and Nebula were done chaining the girls up, they went to the end of the hallway.

"Why are you guys doing this? We're your team!" Gwen asked.

"Because Eric said so," Nebula said.

"What the hell did he do to you two?" May asked. The two are silent to this.

"Guys come on!" Gwen pleaded. Again silence.

This goes on for a minute, but they eventually realize they won't get any information. The three of them just hang in silence. After a few minutes went by, Gwen decided she wouldn't be a damsel in distress.

She looked over to May and Dew's chains and noticed a flaw in them, the locks were near their wrists. This gave Gwen an idea. She made sure Nebula and Octavia weren't watching them and she lifted herself up a little to her hands. Once she was within reach she began picking through her hair until she found what she was looking for.

May and Dew watched with confused looks until Gwen pulled something out of her hair. It was a few bobby pins and they realized what she was doing. Gwen began to pick the lock of her chains. It took a good minute or two given the restraints but eventually she was able to pick the lock. She fell to the floor as did the chains that held her legs. Everyone looks at their friends to miraculously realize they didn't hear her. Gwen sighs in relief and begins lockpicking her leg chains. The lock comes loose and Gwen looks over to see Nebula and Octavia not even moving.

She slowly stalks over to Dew and begins picking her locks. The same amount of noise when Gwen fell is made when Dew falls to the ground. Again, it seemed that Nebula and Octavia had no reaction. Gwen unlocks Dew's leg locks and the two of them go over to May. Again Gwen unlocks her chains and Nebula and Octavia don't hear a thing. The three of them gather and talk in a hushed tone.

"What the hell is going on?" Dew asked. "What happened to Oct and Neb?"

"I don't know," Gwen said. "But something's off, they should have heard the chains. Nebula and Octavia would have been on us the second the chains hit the floor."

"Maybe whatever the bastard did to them weakens their senses?" May suggested. "Whatever it was we have to knock them out."

"You think we'll be able to sneak up on them?" Dew questioned.

"Well if their senses are dulled then yeah." May turned the raven haired girl next to her. "Gwen, you think we can do this?"

"What choice do we have?" Gwen asked. "Dew, you take Nebula and I'll take Octavia?" The blonde nodded and Gwen nodded back.

"I'll be right behind you guys in case anything happens."

Everyone gets into position and takes a deep breath. Gwen looks at Dew who has three fingers up. She slowly counts down with her fingers and once they were all down, Gwen and Dew attacked. They put their friends in a choke hold and began to knock them out, but noticed that they weren't even struggling. Not only that, May looked into Nebula and Octavia's eyes and noticed something.

"Girls wait!" May shouted. Gwen and Dew stop for a second but keep Nebula and Octavia in holds. "What's wrong with their eyes?"

Gwen and Dew look at their eyes and realize May is right. Their eyes are dull and their mouths are slightly hanging open. They realize that Nebula and Octavia weren't reacting to being put in a hold so they let them go and take a closer look at them.

Dew snaps her fingers in front of their faces to see if they react, with the same results. "What the hell is this?" Dew muttered. Unfortunately there wasn't enough time to think as all of them heard muffle explosions coming from above.

"What the?" May yelled out. Another barrage of explosions is heard. As the barrage continued, a couple of stones crumbled down from the ceilings and walls. Once the barrage was done the girls looked at each other.

"Can this day get any worse?" Dew said. All of a sudden all of them heard the sound of a door being kicked in above them. The sound of a bunch of feet entering and the door slamming caused all of them to freeze in their spots.

"You just had to say it, didn't you?" May said sarcastically.

"Shut up," Dew whispered. "Look for all we know, those are bandits tryng to get us, so place Nebula and Octavia in the middle of the room and we'll ambush them when they come down here.

* * *

"And uh… you can guess what happened next," Dew finished.

Jaune rubbed his head a little bit. "Yeah, thanks for that by the way," He commented.

"Bite me," May said.

"Wait, so Nebula and Octavia were still unresponsive?" Roy asked. Gwen nodded her head and Jaune and Roy head over to them. They kneel down next to Nebula and Octavia and see that their eyes were exactly as they described: Dull and lifeless. "Hmm…"

"So, can anyone think about what's wrong with them?" Jaune asked the room. He snapped his fingers in Octavia's face and shook her to come up with zero results.

"It has to be the drugs right?" May said.

"The thing is," Roy started. "Brawnz and I got drugged too not to mention all of you, so why aren't we affected?" This caused everyone to think of another reason why.

"I have a theory," Gwen said meekly. Everyone turns to her, startling her a little bit.

"Go ahead," Jaune said. "We're all ears."

Gwen swallowed her nervousness and took a deep breath. "Maybe the Eric guy has a mind control semblance?" Everyone took a minute to think about it.

"It does make the most sense," May thought aloud. "It explains Octavia and Nebula's behavior."

"I don't think so," Roy said standing up. "Because when Brawnz and I were fighting Eric, he made me see these nightmarish things. Can mind control do that?"

"Maybe, but even so why aren't Neb and Oct affected now?" Dew asked.

"Jaune, Roy!" the familiar voice of Nolan came from above. "What's going on down there? Are the girls there?"

"Yeah they are!" Roy called back.

"Shit, really? In that case send Dew up to fix up Brawnz."

"What's wrong with Brawnz?" Dew asked. Roy pointed at his leg as he lifted it up.

"Got shot right here," he said. "Aura penetration."

"Ouch." Dew began walking toward the ladder. "I'll be right up Nolan! Give me a minute."

"Oh yeah, bring down our weapons if we aren't up there soon," Roy called out. Dew gave a thumbs up and climbed the ladder. Meanwhile the rest of them continued discussing what Eric's semblance is.

"Where were we?" Gwen questioned.

"About how Nebula and Octavia aren't affected right now," May said.

"Well… what if they still are?" Jaune asked. Everyone turned toward him, questioned looks on their face.

"How so?" Gwen asked.

"Well look at them." Jaune motioned at Nebula and Octavia. "Unresponsive, dulled eyes, practically in a hypnotic state."

"What if that's just the drugs?" May asked.

"No it wouldn't be," Roy answered. He began pacing around as he explained. "If it were the drugs how were you girls able to wake up so early, including me and Brawnz. Not to mention how we weren't in their state. But at the same time why didn't he take over your minds? Or how was I able to snap out of it?" Roy's voice slowly lowered until he was mumbling to himself.

"Well he's gone," May said.

Jaune scratched his head and asked "What's up with Roy?"

"He sometimes gets too wrapped up in questions," Gwen said. "But some of them are right, why weren't we affected? And how do we know if our friends are?"

That question echoed through Jaune's head each time it was brought up, as if the answer was staring him in the face. " _How do we know they are affected by his semblance still?"_ He knew he had some way of knowing.

That was when he realized something. He looked over to Nebula and Octavia. He goes over to them and crouched down in front of them. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and concentrated on focusing his aura, specifically more around his head. If what he was seeing was what he thought it was, it could help. Jaune thinks back to all the time he spent training to unlock his semblance, all the countless hours of meditating with Ren, training with Pyrrha, and his own private sessions.

His head starts to hurt and he opens his eyes and sees the red tint in his eyes. It then switched to the purple tint, and then to a blue one. It felt like his head was on fire and would burst at any moment. He begins to breathe heavily.

Meanwhile, May Gwen and Roy see that Jaune is glowing. "What the heck?" Gwen said. Roy stopped mumbling to himself and went over to Jaune. He looks at his eyes to see they're changing colors.

Roy shook the blonde. It had no effect on him. His eyes turn purple for a minute and he stares at Nebula and Octavia. He then groans and grabs his head. He stops glowing and his breathing slowly turns to normal. Meanwhile May and Gwen try and figure out what the heck just happened.

"Did he do something to Nebula and Octavia?" May asked in a hostile tone. Jaune groans and gets up and Roy steps away from him. "Hey, what did you do to them?"

Jaune blinks and looks around the room, trying to rub out his headache as he did. "What?" Jaune mumbled.

"I said what did you do to them?" May grabbed his sweatshirt and shook him. Roy and Gwen grab May and drag her away before she does anything else irrational.

"I didn't do anything to them," Jaune said as he rubbed his temples. "At least I don't think so."

"You don't think so?" Gwen repeated.

Jaune sighs. "Look I've been having some major headaches ever since we got captured." Jaune pointed to his eyes. "Whenever I did my sight changed color. I would see the entire room turn a certain color and sometimes see text. Another time I think I saw actual aura, which is what I was trying to do this time. Not to mention both times it happened it didn't seem to affect anyone in the room. So… I thought maybe I could do it again but actually control it."

Everyone stares at him for a second. Roy then has an idea what was happening. But he had to be sure of one thing. "Jaune," he said. "Do you even know what your semblance is?"

The blonde looked over at Roy to see him staring t him. It was a stare that said 'Don't lie,' which caused Jaune to sigh. "No I don't know my semblance," he admitted. This caused Gwen to let out a slight gasp and May to scoff.

"Why am I not surprised?" May muttered.

"Well if that's the case," Roy said walking over to Jaune. He put a hand on Jaune's shoulder. "I think you finally discovered it." This caused Jaune to look at Roy who was smiling, Jaune let out a chuckle.

"As much as I love to ruin this," May said. "We got bigger problems than this guy figuring out his semblance." Jaune frowned and nodded his head.

"May's right," he said. Jaune began pacing around. "We can discuss this later. Right now, we need to snap Nebula and Octavia out of Eric's influence, grab our gear and get out of here."

"So they are under the influence?" Gwen asked. Jaune nodded. "How do you know?"

Jaune motioned to everyone in the room. "Every living thing has aura right?" May, Gwen, and Roy nod their heads. "Well I think part of my semblance is being able to the aura even when it isn't visible to the naked eye. Nebula has a light blue aura while Octavia has a reddish orange aura." Jaune looked over to Gwen for confirmation. She flinched a little from being put on the spot but nodded her head. "Well, I found a blood red aura circling around their heads."

"That sounds like the aura Eric had around his arm when he was controlling me," Roy stated.

"Wait how does he have control over the girls but not Roy?" May asked.

"Roy must have broken out of it somehow," Jaune theorized. "And maybe they aren't doing anything right now is because Eric has to be near them for his semblance to be at full effect. He leaves a little bit behind so it's easier for him to take control again." He turned to Roy and asked a question. "How were you able to break out? What made you escape the nightmare Eric made you experience?"

Roy put his hand to his chin and thought about it. "Well…" he started. "I was experiencing the hellish nightmare for a while. I then heard a big explosion but it was muffled, and I could barely hear it past my screaming. And then all of a sudden there was a bright light and a ringing in my ears. Next thing I knew I saw the bandit that captured us through the smoke and kicked him off the stage. I helped up Brawnz and that's when you and Nolan showed up."

"A flashbang…" Jaune mumbled. "I wish we had some more."

There was the sound of the door to Eric's shack opening followed by a yell. "There you are!" the raspy voice said. "You won't escape!" Everyone in the dungeon heard the sound of a scuffle, and ran to the ladder. As they reached it they heard a scream and a bandit hit the floor on their level, causing all of them to stop. The bandit looks over to them and Jaune reacted. He went up to the down bandit and then kicked him in the face which caused him to be knocked out.

"Come on, let's go!" Jaune commanded. He began to climb the ladder and everyone else followed behind them. When Jaune reached the top he saw that another bandit was knocked out but three more were still harassing Brawnz Dew and Nolan. He climbed up and took out his sword and shield and charged the group of bandits.

One of them turned around once they heard Jaune only to be met with a shield bash to the face, knocking him out instantly. The other two turned to Jaune, giving an opening for Dew and Nolan to attack one. Nolan tased one of them causing him to scream in pain and then Dew slapped him with the pole of her spear. Brawnz tackled the last guy and then battered his face in, which took down all of the bandits that showed up.

Gwen, Roy and May finally climbed the ladder only to miss the action. They sigh, a little disappointed, but May and Gwen smile when they see their weapons. May grabs her sniper and looks down the scope, adjusting the sights. Meanwhile Gwen grabbed the only bag in the pile and ripped it open to reveal her knives. She smiles and begins putting her knives back in her battle dress.

"You okay Brawnz?" Jaune asked.

"I just beat the dude's face in and you worry about me?" Brawnz said with a smile. He pats Jaune on the back. "I'm fine, don't worry." Jaune nods at Brawnz and then grabs everyone's attention in the room.

"Everyone, listen up," he started. Everyone turned to him and waited for his command. "The plan right now is to get food and water for the road, snap Nebula and Octavia from their trance, and get out of here. There should be a map somewhere around here or at the garage. Nolan and I got keys to rides that will help us. We're on a time limit here before more bandits come, so do what we need to do and hurry. Is that clear?"

There was something different in Jaune's voice and everyone heard it. Perhaps it was because he didn't ask if his plan was the right plan, perhaps it was because he wasn't faking confidence. Whatever it was, it inspired all of them. All of them nodded and got to work.

 **A few minutes later:**

"Are you sure this will work?" Nolan asked as Jaune placed the flashbangs in front of Octavia and Nebula.

"It should," Jaune said. "I hope."

"'He hopes,' he says," Dew said as she placed a hand on her hip.

"Just hold their clothes and look away when I pull the pins." Nolan and Dew nodded. The plan was to sit Octavia and Nebula upright and have a flashbang go off in their face to hopefully snap them out of their trance. They were lucky that some of the bandits had a few so they looted the bodies and were getting the girls ready. Gwen and Brawnz even found their clothes so they had something to change into.

Jaune took a deep breath and pulled the pin on the flashbang, turned away and covered his ears. Dew and Nolan do the same and wait for a few seconds they hear the muffled explosion and turn back toward their friends, who seem to be moving a little bit. Jaune goes over and crouches in front of Nebula and Dew goes over to Octavia to see if it worked.

* * *

The darkness that Nebula was in seemed to be permanent. She had been in this state for so long that she had to wonder, was this death? What was weird was that she could still feel herself move and say stuff, but all of it was numbed and muffled. So, when a bright flash and loud bang are the best things she hears and sees you can guess why she gets a little surprised.

As the ringing in her ears died down, and the blinding light slowly faded, Nebula begins to come to her senses. She looks around to see that she was in a circular room with chains on the walls. She then looks down to reveal her lowcut shirt. She takes a closer look at her apparel and is disgusted by it. Sure, at times she likes to wear clothing that showed of her curves, but this was practically nothing. However all of that changed when she looked to her right to see blonde hair and blue eyes.

"Nebula," Jaune said as he leaned in to get a closer look. "Are you all right? How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay I think," Nebula said. She rubs her temple with her hand. "Just a bit of a headache."

"Probably from the drugs and mind control," Jaune mumbled.

"Jaune I'm glad you're worried and all, but could you maybe back up a little bit?" Jaune and Nebula locked eyes for a second and Jaune got a slight blush on his face.

"Uh… sorry." He backs up and clears his throat.

"Smooth move lady killer," Nolan said. Jaune glared at Nolan who just gave a smug smile to him and then looked over to Nebula. "Hey Neb, I got your regular clothes right here."

"Where did you get that?" Nebula asked.

"Gwen and Brawnz found your clothes in the dude's closet." Nebula shuddered at the thought of what he was going to do with her clothes.

As Nolan handed Nebula her regular clothing Dew was tending to Octavia. She had the same reaction as Nebula at her clothes but Dew handed Oct her regular clothes, which cheered her up. "Do you remember anything?" Dew asked.

Octavia rubs her forehead trying to remember. "I remember the guys coming and taking me," She said. "Then me fighting back and then blackness for who knows how long, and then the sudden bright and deafening flash."

Dew nodded. "Thanks Oct," she said. Dew stands up and walks over to Jaune and drags him over to Nolan. She explains to them what Octavia said.

"All right thanks," Jaune said. "But why drag us away?"

Nebula turns Nolan and Jaune and slowly pushes them to the ladder. "We just handed them their clothes, do you really think I'd allow you to stay here for what comes next?"

"Understandable, see you in little bit." Jaune began to climb the ladder and Nolan looked at him as if he was crazy.

"Come on Jaune you're giving up too easily!" Nolan said. "What are you gay?"

Jaune stopped climbing and looked down at Nolan and Dew. "No, but my sisters said if they ever caught me peeping, even by accident, they'd castrate me, put them in a sack, send the sack down a river, and send the river hurling to space." Dew and Nolan just stare at Jaune wide eyed that he made that comment and he just shrugged.

"Well even so, I'm not giving up that easy." Nolan was going to try and get past Dew but she points her spear at his throat and raises an eyebrow. This caused Nolan to lift his hands up in mock surrender and climb the ladder.

Back at the top the defeated bandits were piled onto each other and tied to each other. The others practically ransacked the place for anything that wasn't bolted down. "What do we have?' Jaune asked as he looked around.

"Well, the guy had a case of water left which is about thirty bottles, so that's a good thing," Roy said. "We also raided his food and he has a lot of it, we should be good for food and water."

"I found some Sniper ammo for myself so I'll be able to protect us for a little bit," May called out.

"Other than that we haven't found anything else useful," Brawnz said. "No map or anything."

"All right, well Nebula and Octavia are awake so we'll be moving out in a little bit," Jaune said. "Grab everything you can!"

"Right!" Everyone called out. A minute passes and the three girls come up from the basement. Gwen looks at them and runs over to hug her two teammates.

"I'm so glad you girls are okay!" She said in the hug.

"Don't choke us!" Octavia said. Gwen stops the hug.

"Sorry…" Gwen looks down at the ground a little disappointed but Nebula and Octavia smile and hug her.

"Team NDGO's back," Nebula said.

"Let's kick some ass," Dew said getting fired up. Jaune looked over to NDGO to see them all taking out their weapons. Dew and Gwen handed Nebula and Octavia their weapons. Nebula put hers in sword mode and smiled. Octavia sent a surge of aura through her short sword causing a bit of fire to come out. She chuckles. Dew grabbed two knives from her dress and reverse gripped them and got a smile on her face. Dew got her spear out and placed a hand on her hip, she gains a confident smile.

"All right, NDGO's ready," Jaune called out. "BRNZ, you all ready?"

Jaune looked over his shoulder to see BRNZ. Brawnz tossed a quiver of arrows at Nebula which she thanked him for. He then smashed both of his fists together and let out a low growl. Roy spun his saw blades in their holders to make sure they were still operational. May cocked her sniper back and Nolan made his baton spark a little bit.

"All right then," Jaune said he took out Crocea Mors and put it in sword and shield mode. "Let's get out of here."

 **To be continued**

 **Beta Reader: TheShadowOfZama**


	11. Chapter 11

Jaune opened the door and peeked outside the shack. While there seemed to be a little bit of smoke from places, it seemed that the bandits that were conscious were putting out any fires or damages that Jaune and Nolan caused. Jaune thought this would give them a chance to sneak out without attracting too much attention.

He closes the shack door and turns to everyone. "Okay," he started. "Right now they could still be looking for us but at the same time they are doing damage control. We can either sneak out or we can fight head on. What do you guys want to do?"

"I say we sneak out of here," Nolan said. In order to carry the food and case of water Nolan had to holster his baton. He carried the backpack full of food and the ammo for the gun, and he was carrying the case of water. He was basically the pack mule. "I'd rather not risk losing this stuff in a fight."

"Stop being a pussy Nolan," May said. "We're nine hunters in training, we can take on a bandit camp."

"You're not the one who has to carry the food and water May." The two glare each other for a moment.

"I'm with May on this," Dew interrupted. "If we get caught we're going to have to fight our way out anyway."

"We don't need to cause unnecessary risk," Brawnz argued. "If they can't find us before it's too late we'll get a big head start."

Everyone began arguing amongst each other. While some wanted to be on an attack others wanted stealth. Jaune was thinking himself about what would be best for the situation. Both had its ups and downs so Jaune didn't mind either. That was when he got an idea.

"Guys," He started but either everyone ignored him. "Hey guys!" Again, no one heard him. Jaune then put his right pointer finger and thumb in his mouth and whistled. This caused everyone to stop and turn to him. "All right, how about we split off into two teams?"

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Octavia asked. Jaune nodded his head. He opened his left palm and pointed his finger at the edge of it.

"What I plan to do is have one team go directly to the garage," He drags his finger to the middle of his palm and taps on it. "When there are bandits, the team fights. Meanwhile the other team goes to the prison and grabs the guys clothes." He put his middle finger at the edge of his palm again and had it go off in a different direction. "Once the attack team reaches and clears out the garage the other team will meet them there." He uses his finger to simulate both teams meeting up at one point. "Any questions?"

"Yeah," Octavia asked. "Why do we need to get your guy's clothes?"

"I'd rather not wear this bandit crap any longer than I have to," Jaune said. "Plus I want to make sure we don't get shot on sight since I'm pretty sure the guards at Shade would." However, both of those were a lie. Jaune didn't like it, but there was a selfish reason for this plan. Jaune needed his hoodie back. It was one of the only few things, besides Crocea Mors, that he could connect to his family with.

He had to send in fifty box tops of Pumpkin Pete cereal for that hoodie. Obviously he couldn't do it alone, so he asked his family for help. He and his sisters would only eat the cereal for breakfast lunch and dinner until Jaune got it. Once he did he was so happy that his sisters helped him that he gave every single one of them a big hug. Now he wasn't even allowed back in the house anymore.

Everyone took a minute to think about Jaune's plan. Jaune gulped, nervous if they would be okay with it, and not see through his lie. That was when he noticed May let out a slight sigh. "I don't think the guards would shoot us on sight," May said. "I guess it won't hurt to be sure."

"I can agree with this," Dew said.

"Let's do it," Brawnz and Roy said together.

"Great plan Jaune," Nebula encouraged.

"Dibs on clothing retrieval," Nolan called out as he raised his hand. Meanwhile Gwen smiled and nodded, and Octavia did the same. Little did they know that those words of encouragement lifted Jaune. After being second guessed every turn, it was a nice change of pace to actually have more than a few people like his plan. Even if it was a selfish plan. However he didn't have time to let it sink in.

"All right, who wants to be on the garage squad?" Jaune asked. Nebula, Dew, May, and Roy raised their hands. "Okay, and the rest of you want to be on the retrieval team?" All of them gave various forms of yes.

"Who will you be joining, Jaune?" Octavia asked. Jaune put a hand up to his mouth. He goes through what he thinks will be best for the plan. He begins mumbling incoherently, causing everyone to stare at him.

After two minutes go by Nebula leans over to Brawnz. "Should we reboot him or something?" She joked.

"I would but I think he would shut down completely," Brawnz replied. This caused all of them to let out a chuckle.

"I can still hear you, you know!" Jaune said. This cause everyone to recoil a bit, as they did not expect Jaune to respond. "Anyway, to answer your question Octavia…" everyone leaned in a little closer. "I'll be joining the scouting team. Any objections?" No one voiced their opinions. "All right, garage team, let's go. cloth retrival, you're good to go."

"Right," everyone said. Jaune opens the door and picks up Crocea Mors. Nebula follows behind followed by Roy and then May. The others went the other directions to the prison. Jaune began leading the garage team through the bandit camp. For a little bit it seemed there were no bandit's around, which made Jaune's skin crawl. Something was up. They eventually ran into a patrol of six, all of whom had melee weapons. One had what looked to be a wood club, another had a metal crowbar, another one had a bat with screws and nails put in for extra power, one had a metal bat, One had a wood staff and the last one looked to have a gun.

"There they are!" The bandit with a club said. The bandit with the gun aimed up in the air and fired, to reveal that it was a flare gun.

"Ah shit," May said. All of the bandits charge and the garage team charged back. Meanwhile the bandit with the flare fled, presumably to get a better weapon.

Jaune blocked an attack from the bandit with a metal pipe with his shield. He sweeps with his sword but the bandit read him and jumped in the air to dodge the attack. While still in the air the bandit kicked Jaune in the chin causing him to back up. Jaune shakes his head growls at the bandit. "That all you got?" the bandit said as he twirled his metal pipe. Jaune shifts to an offensive stance and charges at the bandit. He kept his sword low, making it seem that he was going to sweep the bandit again. The bandit smiled and jumped up before Jaune swung, and fell for Jaune's trap hook line and sinker.

Jaune turned his blade so the sharp end was vertical instead of horizontal, and swiped upwards, cutting the bandit. The bandit lands on the ground and grips his metal pipe tightly. "You bastard!" he yelled. He swings down with his pipe hoping to hit Jaune. However Jaune side stepped out of the way causing the bandit to hit the ground instead. Jaune lifted his shield and slammed down on the bandit's arm, causing a sickening crunch. The bandit let go of the metal pipe and used his other hand to grab his now broken arm. Jaune then hit the bandit in the side of the head with his sword's pommel.

Dew was facing the bandit with nails and screws in his bat. He swung for her head but she rolled out of the way. As she popped back up she used the pole of her weapon to smack the guy in the leg and trip him up. He falls to the ground and Dew tries to stab him, but he rolls out of the way and gets back up. He is quick to counter attack as he swings for Dew's body. Dew plants her spear in the ground and uses her pole to block the bat. It succeeds and Dew then uses her spear to pole vault and kicks the guy in the face. The bandit grips his face and growls.

He goes for an overhead swing but Dew stabbed him in the stomach causing him to recoil. She then uses her pol to unleash a flurry of attack and finishes with kicking the guy to the ground. She spins her spear and stabs the guy in the leg, causing him to scream and grip his leg. She then stomps on his face to knock him out.

May and Roy took on the two with the crowbar and metal bat. Roy spun his blades and was trying slice down on the one with the bat, but the bandit's bat was strong. The two clashed and stared each other down. Meanwhile May was blocking attacks from the crowbar with her gun. The bandit kept up a malicious battle against May. Eventually he made her lose her balance. He smiles and hooks May's leg and trips her. May falls down with a loud thud, and the bandit lifted his crowbar only to fall over, due to Roy tossing the other bandit into him.

Roy goes over and helps May up. The two Bandits get up as well. Roy throws his saw at the bandits causing them to duck. May then charges at them, but just before reach them she began sliding. She dragged her sniper rifle and held it in axe form. Her axe hooks one of the bandit's legs and she trips them as they stood back up. The other bandit turned to May but was hit with Roy's saws as he recalled them back to his gauntlets. May, then hits both of them in the head with the butt of her rifle. Roy and May looked at each other with small smirks on their faces and nodded at their work.

Nebula was facing the bandit with the staff. The bandit charged Nebula with the staff trailing behind him. He jumps and slams his staff down on Nebula, who blocks it with her sword. She parries his staff to the side and stabs him three times in the torso. She then charges at him and tackles him to the ground. She straddles the bandit and grabs his neck with her left hand and begins punching him in the face multiple times. The bandit eventually grabs Nebula's head and headbutts her causing her to get off of him.

Both of them get up at the same time. Nebula walks backwards while switching to crossbow form. The bandit charges just as she was loading an arrow into it. Nebula loaded the arrow but wouldn't have enough time to fire it, so she blocks the staff attack. She then hooks the bandit's neck with the limb of the crossbow and brings his head to her knee. The bandit falls to the ground unconscious as she unwrapped the limb.

However it seemed that the one guy that shot the flare attracted another horde of bandits and the team got ready for another wave of attack. Meanwhile, the other team had their own problems.

* * *

"I swear to God I'm going to skin the bastards who did this," Alex said. He was carrying an assault rifle. Right now three bandits were guarding the prison and they were talking about their friends they found dead in the prison.

"Even the girls?" Temple asked. He was carrying a shotgun.

"Dead or alive it still feels the same right?"

"That's fucked up, even for you," Sean said. He was also carrying an assault rifle. Alex sighed.

"I know," he said. "I'm just so fucking pissed right now."

"It shouldn't be a surprise the Shades would kill us," Temple said. "But yeah, I'm gonna fill 'em with bullet holes if they even come around here."

"Too bad we won't seeing as someone else found them," Sean said. all of them saw the flare but they were to stay and guard the prison. All of them heard something hit the wall next to them they all turn to the wall to see nothing there. "What was that?"

"I don't know, but keep your guard―" Temple didn't finish as he got hit in the face with rock. He lets out a pained groan and grips the right side of his face. The three guard look over to where the rock came from.

"I'll check it out," Alex said. He goes over to the corner and then slowly peeks out of it. Only to be grabbed by something and taken behind the shack.

"Alex!" the two others called out. They go over to the corner but stop before turning it. Sean holds up five fingers and counts down, however once he got to three a person popped from the corner, causing the two of them to panic fire. However as the body fell to the floor they realized that it wasn't the attacker, it was Alex. The two bandits stare with their mouth open at the shock that5 they just shot their friend.

That was when another attacker decided to make her move. She popped out behind them and had a small knife in each of her hands. She threw them right into the bandits' necks, causing both of them to choke and try to stop the bleeding. However it was too late as the job was already done. Both of the bandits fall to the ground dead. Their gunshots brought out their friends from the caves,

"Hey guys what's going on?" Another bandit with a shotgun said as he came out of the cave. Behind him was a bandit with a revolver. They noticed the black haired attack and pointed his gun at her. "Stop!" he yelled out. The girl saw him and took cover behind the shack.

Both bandits fired at her but missed. The shotgunner growled and ran after her with the revolver bandit close behind. The shotgunner was met with a hit to the face with a baton just as he reached the corner. Meanwhile the revolver bandit wasn't paying attention behind him and felt a pain in the bend of his knee. He felt a hand go over his mouth. The last thing he saw was a red curved dagger go to his throat, and the last thing he felt was a sharp pain in his neck.

Meanwhile the bandit who got hit with the baton felt someone grab his arm. He then felt his body move and felt himself begin slammed into a wall. The bandit slides down and turns over only to be met with a boot to the face.

"All right, I think that's all of them," Nolan said. "At least that's all I saw when I was in the rat."

"Did you make sure to check every corner of that cave Nolan?" Octavia asked as she wiped the blood off of her knife.

"Of course I did. What you don't trust me?"

"I do, I just don't like sneak attacks." Nolan stuck his tongue out at her. Meanwhile Gwen went over to the two bandits she killed. She grabbed her knives from their still warm corpses and sighed.

"Doesn't get easier, does it?" Brawnz said as he placed a hand on her shoulder. She shook her head. "Come on, we still got work to do." Gwen nodded and the retrieval team entered the Prison to get the guys gear.

* * *

The attack team stood in silence with the unconscious bandits surrounding them. All of them were out of breath from the constant attacks. They were lucky that one of the bandits told everyone to retreat, most likely because they were getting their asses kicked.

"You think they'll return?" May asked as she loaded a clip into her sniper.

"Let's not wait around to find out," Jaune said as he holstered his sword. "Let's just get to the garage and see if the others are there waiting for us."

"Right!" Everyone present said. They holster their gear and start following Jaune away from the bandit massacre. There were no Bandits as they got closer to the garage which made Jaune suspicious.

Eventually they reach the metal door to the garage, only to find that it's locked. Jaune turned around and faced all of them. he pointed his thumb back to the door. "Anyone know how to pick a lock?"

"Can't we just destroy the door?" May asked.

"Unless you got C4 tucked somewhere, we aren't breaking down the metal door. It'll cause too much attention. So I ask again, does anyone know how to pick a lock?"

Everyone shook their head, causing Jaune to sigh. "Guess all we can do is wait."

"What about that window?" Nebula asked pointing up the building. Everyone looks to see a square window near the roof of the garage. It wasn't big, but it was big enough size for a person to get through.

Roy picked up a nearby rock and threw it at the window, causing the glass to shatter. A couple of glass shards fall on top of the students, causing them to shield themselves as to not get cut. May, Nebula, Dew and Jaune glare at Roy, causing him to shrug.

"I though'd it be easier to get in if we didn't have to break it once we got up there," He said. This caused a couple of groans from May and Dew. Meanwhile Jaune gathered everyone's attention.

"So," He started. "Who wants to climb scale the wall and possibly fight bandits in the garage by themselves? Not it!"

Jaune's screaming of "not it" set off a chain reaction of everyone doing the same. The first one to do it after Jaune was Roy, followed by Dew and Nebula at the same time, with May being the last one.

"I hate all of you," May grumbled.

"Come on," Roy said as he motioned his head over to the building. "I'll give you a lift." May nodded her head and the two got to work. Meanwhile, Jaune walked over to Dew and Nebula. The two of them saw Jaune coming and wondered what he wanted. As they asked Jaune sighed.

"You get the feeling that this almost too easy?" Jaune asked.

"How can you think that?" Dew asked.

"I'm just saying, don't you find it weird that other bandits haven't came for us yet? I mean we're practically defenseless here and no one is nearby."

"Jaune," Nebula said. "Just learn to take what you can get. Sometimes things just go your way."

"That's a first," Jaune said in a pessimistic tone. Nebula and Dew can hear the tone and look at each other. May put her hands up in mock surrender and backed away, causing Nebula to sigh. It's not that she hated Jaune or anything, she was even one of the few that wanted to give him a fair chance. It's just growing up in Vacuo doesn't breed for the most tender of caring. She places a hand on Jaune's shoulder, gaining the blonde's attention.

"Hey, I know these past few days have been tough on you, but sometimes you just gotta suck it up." Jaune raised an eyebrow at this causing Nebula to try and make it so it didn't sound so... Vacuian. "I mean, sure life might be trying to tell you that it isn't going to let you have it easy," Again she heard Jaune just sigh, she had to save this quick. "Uhm, but that doesn't mean you give up! Even if it's just little breaks of peace and happiness, it's better than none at all, right?"

Jaune just stares at her long enough to make her uncomfortably shift her weight. To her surprise, he sighs but gives a little smile. "Your motivational speech could use some work," he said. "I appreciate the thought though."

Nebula smiles back. "Sure, anytime." There was a beat, and then Dew decided to break the moment.

"Kiss!" she said in a mock tone. Both of the students stop smiling and turn to Dew, but both with very contrasting looks. While Nebula just glared at her friend like it was a horrible pun, Jaune actually had a small blush on his face and gave her a "how-could-you?!" look instead.

"Had to ruin that moment, didn't you?" Nebula said. Dew just shrugs with a smug smile. Jaune was about to comment too, but all he could get out was a small stammer. The garage door opened and everyone turned to see May unharmed and well.

"Surprisingly, no guards," She stated. This did not appease Jaune's uneasy feelings, but they didn't have time to think upon it. all of them rushed inside and May closes the door behind them.

"Okay," Jaune said. "Let's all look for more stuff we can use. Ammo, fuel, etcetera. Stay together though, at least until the others show up." The others nodded and began to look around for more items to bring. Meanwhile, Jaune needed to take a break. He wanted to relax and clear his mind. He had been running around a lot, was it so bad that he wanted to at least recall and reflect on some of the events that happened.

As he remembered everything that has happened to him since the start of the initiation, he couldn't help but silently chuckle to himself. How did an initiation about going through the desert back to the academy, become a life or death situation? Out of everything that had happened, this was probably one of the hardest things that happened. His first initiation, training with his team, the breach of Vale, even the festival wasn't as difficult as the situation he was in now.

The festival. In a way, it kind of tags along with what's going on now. He remembers everything that happened that day.

 **Before Penny vs Pyrrha:**

Penny and Pyrrha were both mentally getting ready, as all they had to do is wait for Oobleck to finish the countdown. "Three!" his voice carried throughout the stadium. "Two!" the crowd was excited, Penny was combat ready, and Pyrrha, though her mind was a little fogged up by Ozpin and his crew, was prepared. However, another voice spoke before Oobleck could.

" _Such a desirable match up,"_ A female voice says. The screens that were along the walls of the colosseum changed to a picture of a black chess queen piece with a red screen behind it. " _The star pupil of Beacon versus the android of Atlas."_ This caused a few murmurs from the crowd. " _Oh wait, no one knows about the little girl that's really a robot do they?"_ The screen changes from the chess piece to what looked to be schematics of Penny. " _Now why would Atlas need to have a robot look like a little girl? I don't think the Grimm can tell the difference. And what of Ozpin's academy? We get a person who cripples another, and a students who faked his transcript papers."_ The image changes again to an image that Jaune recognized. And as he did, his breathing began to waver. It was his transcript papers.

" _Everyone knows of the Arc family: The Arc of the Great War, whose battle prowess was so legendary, that he could defeat a hundred soldiers before breaking a sweat. And this Arc's father, Michael Arc, also known as the Arc-angel, a man whose kind deeds were matched by his brutality against enemies. And now we have him, Jaune Arc, who has faked his way into this school."_ The image changed to a URL. " _If you don't believe me you can read the schematics and the transcript papers on this site."_ The screen stays the same for a full minute for everyone to remember the URL. It then changes back to the chess piece. _"Can we honestly put our trust into these men as they recruit dangerous children, and those who don't even deserve to belong in a school? Can we trust the men that make human like robots and invade another kingdom with his army? Tell me everyone, who do you think you can trust?"_

The screen goes back to normal and shows Oobleck and Port shocked by what they heard. There was silence for a few seconds, and then there was another announcement. _"Warning. Incoming Grimm attack: threat level six. Please seek shelter in a calm and orderly manner."_ A giantnevermore landed on top of the dome around the colosseum and pecked at the shield.

Everyone in the crowd began to panic, except the Huntsman and hunters in training. All of them stared at the creature as it continued to peck away at the shield. Right now they didn't have time to reflect on what the voice said, they needed to defend the arena and the rest of Vale. All of them got out their scrolls and called for their rocket lockers, to prepare for the fight ahead of them.

Unbeknownst to them, there was a group of three people hiding out in a building somewhere in Vale. The three behind all of this. Cinder broke the phone in half and then incinerated it. "What is next Cinder?" Emerald ask.

"We kill the fall maiden, and let the world destroy Atlas and Beacon," Cinder said with a smug smile on her face.

"We should have just had a full blown grimm attack," Mercury said. "Why do all of this?"

"As much as I agree with you," Cinder said. "Salem had other plans. She wants to train me once we finish the fall maiden. She believes I won't be able to handle the power."

"She's wrong," Emerald objected. "I'm sure you could handle it."

"Quiet," Cinder said. Emerald recoiled and nodded her head. "I will not disobey her. Besides, in her words 'A kingdom destroyed by outside forces can rebuild, a kingdom destroyed from within cannot.'" Cinder grew a wicked smile. "The world will remember my words, and tear Atlas and Vale apart."

* * *

Jaune was shaken out of his reminiscing by having some very familiar cloth hit him in the face, followed by the sound of metal clanging next to him. He removes the cloth and sees Brawnz in his normal grey and purple gradient shirt.

"I'll make fun of you later," Brawnz said. Jaune titled his head in confusion but shrugged it off. He, along with Roy, began removing their bandit wear. However halfway through Roy noticed the girls watching them and called them out on it.

"Do you mind?" he said passive agressivly.

"Nope," Dew said with a slight smile on her face. Roy rolled his eyes and put on his shirt. He noticed that Jaune didn't seem to care that he was being watched by the girls.

"Jaune you're acting unusually calm for undressing in front of girls."

Jaune pulled his hoodie over his head and put the hood down. "I just imagine they're my sisters," he said as began to put on his armor plates. However halfway through he realized how… indecent that sounded. "That came out wrong, that came out very _very_ wrong."

"Hey you said it not me," May said.

"So why does that work for you anyway?" Dew asked.

"I grew up with seven sisters," Jaune said as he put his chest plate on. "Doesn't really breed room for privacy." Everyone stares at him with slight awe on their faces. Once he finished putting on his gear, he noticed the looks he was given. "What?"

"Seven?" Dew repeated. Jaune nodded. "Seven?!"Jaune just sighed.

"Look I'll tell you about my family later, all right?" Everyone nodded and Stood up.

Once the guys were dressed Jaune got on top of the hood of the car and got everyone's attention. "All right here's what we need," Jaune reminded everyone. "Nolan brought the ammo for the turret and the water and food. However let's not just leave anything lying around. I don't care if it's a half eaten bagel or a half drunk water, pack it with the rest of the food."

"Just uh, make sure it doesn't touch the unwarapped stuff," Gwen said timidly.

"We also need stuff that will keep the car running. Fuel, coolant, probably a tool box just to be safe. Is that clear?"

"Oh it's very clear ya drongo," a familiar voice says. The nine students turn around to be met with familiar unfriendly faces. One was that of a lunatic who likes explosives, one was covered by a mask that resembled a pig, one was a very angry Eric, and the other was the Bartender that Nolan had talked to. "And just where do you think you're going?"

 **To be continued.**

 **Beta reader: TheShadowOfZama**


	12. Chapter 12

No one in the garage moves. The four bandits stare at the nine students, all of them daring the others to move. After a minute passes, Junkrat speaks again. "I said, where do you think you're going?" Out of all of the students, Brawnz was the first to move. He took a step forward and pointed his finger at the bandits, causing Eric to ready his revolver and the bartender to get in a fighting stance.

"We're getting out of here," Brawnz said. "And there's nothing―" He is cut off by Eric shooting at him with the pistol. It is then followed by a gust of wind and something hitting Brawnz sending him flying into Jaune. The impact caused Brawnz and Jaune to be launched off the car. Replacing where Brawnz stood, was the bartender with an outstretched arm. Nolan, angry at the bartender for launching his leader and friend, took out his baton and charged him, as do May and Roy. Meanwhile, Nebula and Gwen check up on Brawnz and Jaune, and Octavia and Dew attack Roadhog and Junkrat.

Nolan tried to get in a few swipes at the bartender but he expertly dodges Nolan's attacks. Nolan sends a surge of electricity through his baton and tries to jab the bartender but he sidesteps out of the way and grabs his wrist and the back of his neck. He slams Nolan to the ground face first and tightens his grip, causing the red head to groan in pain.

May aims her sniper rifle at the bartender but before she pulls the trigger there is the sound of five gunshots, and May feels two slight stings to her left shoulder. She looks over to reveal Eric reloading his revolver. She then aims her sniper at Eric and fires, only for him to dodge out of the way. He finished reloading as he rolled and began to fire at May, causing her to take cover. The two engage in a fire fight that causes them to go from cover to cover in the garage.

Roy jumps in the air and spins his sawblades and is about to slam down on the bartender. However the bartender heard Roy and let go of Nolan's arm and placed his hand on the concrete ground. He concentrates his aura through his arm and activates his semblance. The color of the concrete hastily crawls up the bartender's arm, and then the arm hardens into the concrete.

The bartender lifts his arm and blocks Roy with his concrete arm, causing him to feel no damage from Roy's sawblades. He then uses his strength, combined with the strength of the concrete to blow Roy back away. Nolan took this opportunity and elbowed the bartender in the nether region. The bartender lets out a groan and grips his crotch as Nolan swiftly gains distance from him. The bartender recovers from the crotch shot and gets up. He notices that Nolan and Roy are closing in from both side. So he presses his left hand down on the concrete and turns it into concrete so it matches his right arm. He pounds his fist together and waits for Nolan and Roy to make a move. They both charge at the bartender, hoping that the two of them can beat him with the handicap.

Junkrat was laughing manically as he watched the student fight his lieutenants. However he wasn't looking out for Octavia and Dew, but Roadhog was. He saw the girls charging for them and also saw Octavia swipe her blade at them, with a wave fire coming out. He grbbed Junkrat and dragged him out of the way, as well as himself. Junkrat pushes Roadhog off of him and glared at the girls.

"Don't you know it's rude to shoot flames at people?!" Junkrat yelled at the girls. They ignored him and tried to attack him again. However Roadhog takes a giant looking pistol and fires it at the girls. A bunch of burning metal is fired with a shotgun spray, hitting Octavia and Dew. They both stop and take a step back as their aura absorbs the burning metal. With them backing up gave Junkrat enough time to pull a mine from nowhere, along with a remote. "This bomb's for you!" he screamed. He threw the bomb at Dew and Octavia and once it was close enough he blew it up with the remote, sending the girls flying back.

Roadhog then throws a hook from his left hand and hooks Dew's leg. He uses his immense strength to drag her back to them as Octavia hits a wall. Dew twirls her spear and points it at Roadhog as she was dragged back. Roadhog stops dragging her and both he and Junkrat jump out of the way of the spear. The spear stabs and sticks to a wall and Dew lands. She then takes it out and turns to Junkrat and is about to stab down on him. Fear enters Junkrat's eyes but it is soon replaced with relief as Roadhog grabbed Dew by her hair and lifted her up. Octavia had recovered and was charging at them again. However Roadhog tossed Dew into Octavia causing the two of them crash into the ground again.

As the three different battles went on, Nebula and Gwen checked on Jaune and Brawnz. The two guys were scrambling to get off each other. With the help of the girls they were able to recover a lot more quickly. "What do we do?" Nebula asked the two of them. "Do we stay and fight or just try and leave?"

Jaune looked around for a clue as to what they would do. He took in account as many details as he could about the fight. He quickly came up with a solution. "Which one of you knows how to operate a turret?"

Meanwhile the three separate battles were slowly turning into one giant one. Roy was just launched back from the bartender's concretearmas into the back of Roadhog. When road hog felt the body hit him he turned around to find Roy but before Roy could get up Road hog made a fist and pounded Roy down into the ground. He then grabbed Roy's head, which was basically the size of a walnut in the obese man's hand, and was about to lam down on it. May shot at Roadhog's arm, which was blocked by his aura, but it had enough force to cause him to drop Roy.

Roy spun his blades and then slashes at Roadhog, causing him to make some distance between the two. It also caused May to get another clean shot. However before she could, Junkrat fired two bombs from his custom made grenade launcher. She heard the bombs bounce and roll behind her which caused her to vault over her cover. She ducked just in time to escape the shrapnel as it exploded. She wasn't safe from Eric's shooting however.

She got hit twice in the stomach but her aura blocked the two bullets. Eric was about to fire a third time but Nolan ran up and shocked him with his shock baton. Eric recovered from the shock and shot Nolan, causing him to recoil. Roadhog then hooked Nolan and then swung his chain around with Nolan in it and hit Octavia as she tried to charge Roadhog. Dew tried attacking Junkrat from behind but she yelled as she charged him getting rid the element of surprise. Junkrat turned around just in time to block the spear with his metal hand. He then gripped his flesh hand over Dew's throat. "You want to know what death tastes like?!" he said with a psychotic smile.

Dew screamed in horror as she felt the hot sensation burn her aura away. Junkrat's hand then exploded sending Dew flying. Dew gripped her face as she felt the burn marks on her mouth and Junkrat let out a psychotic laugh. Yet, no one was prepared for what happened next, except for Jaune Brawnz, Gwen and Nebula of course.

"Fire!" Jaune yelled. The sound of a turret spinning up along with a vehicle starting and the garage door opening caught the attention of everyone in the garage. Everyone turns to see the truck has started, with Brawnz in the driver seat, Jaune outside it with the rear driver side door open, Nebula in the front passenger seat, and Gwen aiming the gun at the bandits. She fires off a barrage of bullets, causing the bandits to take cover. The bartender covered his entire body with his arms as he moved to a safe cover, while Roadhog grabbed Junkrat and dove into cover and Eric ran for his life.

"Move move!" Jaune yelled. He motioned for them to get over to the car and all of them did. Dew entered the rear of the truck and slammed the door behind her and Roy entered through the open door that Jaune was holding. "Nolan! Take Octavia and Gwen and take the buggy!" he tossed the keys to Nolan who nodded.

"Come on girls!" he said. they followed him with no questions asked. At that moment, Gwen ran out of ammo in the magazine.

"No!" She yelled. Nebula saw this and dug in the bag for another turret magazine, but she would be too late. Roadhog peaked from his cover and his eyes landed on May. He threw his hook and was hoping to hook her. However Jaune also saw Roadhog's eyes. The Next thing he knew he was pushing May out of the way and felt a sharp pain in his arm. Roadhog drags Jaune over to him and is shot in the chest with Roadhogs scrap gun, causing a small burning sensation. However the others decided to make sure that at least one of the Shade students would suffer.

Once Jaune recovered from the scrap gun he was then met two fists from Eric and the bartender entering his stomach causing him to spit out blood and lose a lot of aura. He is then grabbed by the throat from the bartender's concrete arm and is thrown to Junkrat. He feels his stomach hit a palm and also feels like he is going to throw up.

"Boom!" Junkrat screamed. There is a large explosion that emits from Junkrats hand. It sends Jaune flying with him letting out a pain-filled scream and also grabbing his torso. His back hits the truck and he hits the floor. He doesn't move and is grunting in pain. The bandits were about to attack him again but Gwen was able to load another magazine of ammo into the turret and forced them to move to cover. Also May began firing at them. Roy grabbed Jaune and dragged him into the truck, causing him much displeasure and pain.

"Drive!" Roy yelled as he slammed the door shut. Brawnz shifted the truck into gear and sped out the garage, with Nolan and the two girls behind him in the buggy.

With the Shade students gone, Junkrat got out of cover and yelled in anger. "I'm going to skin them alive! After them!" Junkrat was going to run to his custom made vehicle, Roadhog grabbed him and stared him down. Junkrat growled. "I am not letting them go!" Again, Roadhog just stared him down. He then pointed to the bandit base. Junkrat followed Roadhogs finger and then got the message. He turns to Eric and the bartender.

"You two!" he said as he pointed at them. Both of them flinch, scared because they think Junkrat will blame them for the students escape. "Gather every men here and be ready to turn this place into a scrap heap, got it?!"

"W-why boss?" Eric asked.

"They know we're here, and they'll send real huntsmen our way," Junkrat started. "So, we gather as many men as we can find and relocate and recruit." Junkrat gets a wicked smile. "And when we get enough men, we'll burn Shade to the ground."

 **Line Break:**

Roy was trying to find something to help Jaune's burn. Roy wasn't expecting anything that big, so imagine his surprise to see what looked to be a third degree burn. "How's Jaune?" Brawnz asked.

"Not good," Roy said. "That explosion Junkrat gave Jaune seems to be causing third degree burns."

"This isn't good," Nebula mumbled. "At least we still have some of the gear we stole."

"Question remains how long can we last?" Brawnz asked. He shook that dark thought out of his head. "Gwen, you see anyone following us?"

"Negative!" Gwen said. She looked behind them with the turret to see the buggy that carried Nolan, Octavia and May following them. The Bandit camp was nothing more than a speck in the horizon now. "Only ones following us are Nolan and the rest."

"All right we're pulling over to take care of Jaune." Brawnz slowly began to slow down, hoping that Nolan would do the same. The red haired student saw that Brawnz was slowing down and did the same. Soon all of them came to a halt, and they got out of the vehicles. Octavia held her hands out in a confused manner.

"Why have we stopped?" She asked.

"We need to check up on Jaune," Dew said as she hopped out of the back of the truck. Everyone runs over to Roy who carried Jaune out of the truck.

"How is he? Is it bad?" May asked with a concerned voice. Despite how much May rebelled against Jaune, the fact that he took a bullet, well, more like a beating, for her, she couldn't help but to ask. May took a look at Jaune and nearly threw up from the giant burn mark on him. Everyone could see how much pain Jaune was in as he whimpered in pain. They realized something as they looked at his bare chest. When Roadhog hooked Jaune, Jaune had ran out of aura. Or, at the very least, he didn't use any to protect himself.

Jaune's torso had the hand burn scar obviously, but they also saw various forms of bruising and cuts on him as well. If he was this bad on the outside, the internal bleeding must be worse. The fact that Jaune was still conscious was an amazing feat in itself. "Dew, you can heal this right?" Nebula asked.

"I can work on one maybe two serious wounds," Dew said, a slightly panicked look on her face. "These wounds are too severe for me to do any real healing."

"Help… me… please," Jaune moaned out. Hearing those words from the incredibly wounded blonde, it tugged at everyone's heart strings. It was at that moment where everyone realized how much Jaune had to do to get them to this point. Leading all of them through the desert, despite half of them not wanting to listen to him, pushing Dew out of the way of the charger, killing for the first time, taking the blow instead of May, Jaune sacrificed so much to try and get into Shade. Now, here he was, in great pain, with all of them standing around doing nothing. May growled.

"What can we do to help him?" May asked Dew. The blonde healer looked at May a mix of surprise on her face, along with a little bit of relief.

"Well, right now we need a rag with cool water to hopefully make the burn wound less painful," Dew said. "Other than that, I can tend to Jaune as we drive around for another settlement. He needs a professional medic and fast."

"What about the rest of us?" Brawnz asked. 'What can we do?"

"Just make sure the drive is smooth. Also, did anyone happen to grab a map from the camp?"

Octavia lets out a tiny chuckle and pulls out a little piece of paper. She begins to unfold it and the tiny paper turns into a bigger piece. Once it was fully unfolded, everyone sans Dew gathered around it to see where they were.

The map had the bandit camp in the middle, with dotted lines that traveled to bigger dots and X's on the map. Each one had the name of the settlement that was nearby. However they also noticed something. They were able to locate Picaro and noticed that the dotted line was scribbled out with red markers, as were about half of the other settlements.

"The bastards have been busy," Nolan muttered.

"Guess everyone was too focused on the festival…" Gwen mumbled. Nebula and Brawnz both let out angry yells. Now, they weren't exactly like the Vale and Atlas Huntsmen. They don't do jobs for free just because it was for the greater good. At the same time, to see that the festival made the settlements into bigger targets was partially their fault. They could've gone on any of the missions to help protect the settlements, yet they wanted to go to the festival and wanted to practice more instead of taking a mission.

"Look, no use dwelling on the past," Roy said. "Right now let's just find out where we are."

"It will probably help if we had a compass," Nolan reminded everyone. "I think there was an extra one in the buggy."

"I'll get it," May said. She ran back to the buggy as the others tried to think of a plan. Obviously they were going to go to the nearest settlement. The question was what to do once they got there. Some wanted to stay there until Shade came to find them. Others wanted to get directions to Shade and others wanted to see if they could contact Shade. Nolan returned and told them what direction they were heading.

They looked at the map and noticed that the nearest settlement that didn't have the red markings was a medium sized one called Yano. However it was going north, and they saw that Shade was to the south west of the bandit camp. There was no real way to tell how far away they were from each other. they could be somewhere between fifteen to fifteen thousand miles away.

While they agreed to go to Yano, they were all still arguing what to do, that was until Octavia stepped in and made a decision. "All right look, arguing isn't going to get us anywhere," She said. "So right now let's just get over to Yano and make sure we are safe from the bandits and that Jaune is okay, once we know that, then we'll decide on what to do, got it!?"

No one said a word and agreed with what she said. Right now all they needed to do was find civilization. Nebula pulled Octavia to the side and quipped about her plan. "Maybe you should've been leader," The two share a laugh but Octavia grabs Nebula's shoulder.

"You're a great leader Neb," She said. "I just had a moment of brilliance." Again, the two share a laugh. With everyone agreeing with the plan, they all get back in the vehicles and drive to Yano, hoping it's still there.

Derw was still tending to Jaune as they rode in the truck. He let out the occasional moan or groan to signal that he was still conscious, but stil in a lot of pain. However, a few minutes into the trip, Jaune wasn't feeling too good. His neck began to swallow down a lot and he seemed to be staring off into space. Dew noticed this and was wondering what was happen.

"Jaune, are you okay?" She asked. Jaune didn't respond. He just looked into space. However, Brawnz remember something that Jaune told him.

"Dew lean him on his side!" Brawnz said as he continued driving. Dew looked at Brawnz with confusion.

"Why?"

"He has motion sickness!"

When those words came out, Dew realized why jaune wasn't talking. He turns him on his side. Another minute passes by making all of them think it was just a false alarm. That was until Jaune threw up on the ground, since he was on his side, it didn't get on Dew but the truck's floor wasn't as lucky.

"Oh god!" Nebula said plugging her noise. Gwen thanked her lucky stars that she couldn't see or smell the puke since she was the gunner, and Roy was also lucky as he was in the back, but that didn't mean he couldn't hear what was going on.

Dew inspected the puke, despite hating the fact that she had to, and saw how bad Jaune's insides were. Half of the puke was saliva, while the other half was blood. She looked over to Jaune to see him closing his eyes, which wasn't the best of sign. She tried shaking him awak but to no avail.

"Jaune come on! Stay with us!" she said. Jaune respond with breathing very shallow and his eyes closing. "Brawnz, step on it!" Dew said. The student revved the engine and then sped up to get to Yano as fast as they could. Who knew how much time they had left?

 **To be continued.**


	13. Chapter 13

Jaune slowly opened his eyes. He is met with a white room with light shining in on it. He can see a ceiling fan that was turned off. He rubs his eyes awake and sits up and looks around. He realizes his mistake as he felt a sting sensation in his chest. He grips it and falls back onto the bed he was laying on. As he gripped it he noticed that his sweatshirt was missing and that he was topless. He takes a note of his surroundings, and assumes he is in some kind of infirmary but he doesn't know where.

He hears a door open and also hears whistling. He tilts his head forward to see man with a lab coat was walking around with a clipboard in his hands. He took a look at the clipboard and then turned around to a counter and opened up a cupboard. Jaune squinted to see a bunch of medicinal items. The man takes a jar and then turns around and walks towards Jaune, and notices that he is awake.

"Ah, Mr. Arc, you're awake," The man said. He goes over to Jaune and sets the jar he got to the side. "Now then, this might sting a bit." Jaune looked at him with a confused look on his face. The man took out gel from the jar, rubbed his hand together and rubbed it on Jaune's chest. Jaune groans in pain at the slight burning sensation he felt, but at the same time the gel felt cool on his skin which soothed him a little bit. After the man was done applying the gel he went over and washed his hands in a sink.

"Excuse me," Jaune said. "But, where am I? And who are you?"

"Oh where are my manners?" The man said. He dries his hands and walks back to Jaune, his hand outstretched. Jaune shakes his hands. "I'm Doctor Leonardo, I am one of the infirmary staff here in Shade."

"I'm in Shade?" Jaune said surprised. "So, the others, where are they?" Leonardo put his hand up.

"Relax, Jaune, they're fine." Jaune's concerned face was filled with relief, and joy. He didn't know what to think if any of them…

He shook that thought away. "So, if I'm in Shade, where are the others?" he asked.

"Well… to understand that you have to understand how long you've been out." Jaune stared at him with confusion. "Eight years."

Jaune took a second to register what he was hearing. His pupils then shrunk. His breathing got faster and he was starting to panic. However he noticed that Leonardo was laughing. "I'm sorry Mr. Arc, I couldn't help myself. You've only been out for about ten hours, eleven max. That includes when you first passed out."

Jaune let out a sigh of relief. "That was not funny! I could've had a heart attack!" There was a hint of sarcasm in Jaune's voice. For some reason, Leonardo's joking had helped him calm down a little more.

"No you wouldn't have. Besides even if you did you're already in an infirmary so I would have saved you anyway." Jaune and Leonardo share a slight chuckle "Anyway, just let me make sure you are absolutely okay. Being scarred takes some getting used to."

"Scarred?!" Jaune said leaning up, only to grip his stomach again and fall back to the bed. His heart rate goes up from this news, not shocking the doctor.

"Did you forget about the run in with Junkrat?" Leonardo asked. Jaune recollects everything that happened before he passed out. As he does, he nodded his head, remembering Junkrat hit him straight on with his explosion semblance. "Well, the explosion left a nasty hand mark burn scar on your belly. From what I can tell either your aura wasn't strong enough or it was completely depleted when he attacked you. Not to, mention the internal bleeding from all the melee hits you've taken messed up your insides really good. Luckily the people at Yano were able to help at least stop it."

"So… how close was I to…" Leonardo could tell Jaune didn't want to say that word.

"I'd say around sixty-eight percent. You have to keep in mind you didn't really fully heal from the charger attack either. Look I won't go through the details with you. Right now just rest while I do some more tests."

"All right," Jaune agreed.

As Leonardo kept doing more tests, Jaune and him kept chatting. Leonardo was a talker, and Jaune didn't mind that. It helped calm his nerves and slightly ignore the pain he was in. The two learned more about each other throughout each examination. Leonardo was actually a spider faunus that could shoot webs from his mouth, which led him to becoming a field medic due to him being able to patch people up quickly. Jaune talked about his sisters and family, despite them practically disowning him.

"Look your family business is family business, but I highly doubt that every single one of your sisters disowned you," Is what Leonardo said. Jaune couldn't help but smile. Leonardo seemed to be just as helpful, happy, dorky, and goofy as Jaune used to be before Beacon. Once the tests were done Leonardo clapped his hands.

"All right, now then to let Belinda tell you the news."

"What news?" Jaune asked.

Leo just chuckled and shrugged. "Well if I told you now it wouldn't be news now would it?" Jaune chuckled as Leo left the room. Jaune groans and relaxes a little bit. He began thinking of his chances of coming here. He got BRNZ and NDGO captured, and possibly raped. Not only that, he got himself injured so much that they had to stop moving for a time which could've been spent getting to Shade more.

However, another thought popped in his head. What if he was still in the bandit camp? What if this was some kind of trick? He began panicking again but realized that if it was the bandit camp, why would Leonardo do all the tests and heal him when he could've just killed him while he was unconscious.

In truthfulness, Jaune as scared. If he wasn't accepted into Shade, what would he do? He's not strong enough to be a mercenary, and yet he doesn't have anywhere to go to. He could try and find a regular job, but who would hire the biggest fraud in the world?

All of his thoughts were put to an end when the door opened again. He turned and Belinda walking over to him, with Leonardo behind her. She was wearing a dark blue vest with the gold buttons, and a white t-shirt. She wore a skirt that matched the vest color with long black translucent socks with black dress shoes. Her hair was still in a ponytail with the tips dyed light blue. She takes a seat next to Jaune's bed and asks "How are you Jaune?"

"Truthfully? I feel like I got stomped on by a goliath, and my chest feels like I've been thrown into a lava pit."

"On the bright side at least you have a cool story to tell!" Leonardo said. This caused Jaune to smile a little bit and Belinda to smirk.

"Well then, I guess we should get down to business," Belinda said. "Are you ready for your evaluation?" Jaune took a deep breath. It's better to get it sooner rather than later. He nods his head and Belinda begins. "Well, you had a hard time controlling the two teams," She started. Jaune's heart sank a little. "Half the time you were too timid to demand respect, you got yourself injured fighting a charger, you got all of them kidnapped and possibly raped, got half of them under mind control, and put them in so much danger that it was a miracle that no one got killed.

Jaune couldn't move. He didn't realize all of the mistakes he made throughout this entire initiation. Every reason stuck to him. Every reason why he was a failure, a fraud, nothing. His family was correct into thinking that he would amount to nothing. Fortunately Belinda wasn't done.

"However," She said. "You kicked Dew out of the way to save her from a charger, you were able to command them on a battlefield of twenty some grimm, you focused more on survivors of a camp instead of supplies, the respect you gained was from the others realizing that you are a hunter, not someone trying to hurt them, accidental or with intent, and you were able to escape from the bandit camp using the limited knowledge that you had on the bandits."

Jaune looked up at Belinda, hope in his eyes. Did he actually do it? "Now I don't have any room at the moment… but I'm sure I will find somewhere for you to lay your head." Jaune's hopeful eyes turned into ones filled with joy. "Jaune Arc, welcome to Shade Academy."

Those words echoed throughout Jaune's head. He didn't realize he was leaning up until he fell back into the infirmary bed, his big signature grin on his face. He lets out a slight chuckle. "I… can't find words for how happy I am," Jaune said.

"I couldn't imagine," Belinda said. "Besides, you've exceeded my expectations Mr. Arc." Jaune turns his head and raises an eyebrow to her.

"Why's that?"

Belinda looks to the ground for a second and takes a deep breath. "I wasn't expecting Picaro to be raided."

"What do you mean?"

Belinda clears her throat. "When I left all of you in the desert, I put all of you in a location that no matter where you would go, you would find a settlement. Yes, you would have to fight a few grimm but that's to be expected. However I did not expect a settlement to have been raided and destroyed by the bandits and grimm. They were to tell you where you were so that you could travel the desert back here. I expected you to fight mostly our desert grimm, maybe a bandit scout or two, not get captured and have to escape a bandit camp. For that, I am sorry."

Jaune could tell that she truly was sorry for putting Jaune in that situation, and honestly, he should have been mad. In a way, she made him kill someone, she made him have to suffer the near raping, and she was the one that put all of them in danger. Yet, he couldn't blame her. It would be the same for blaming Ozpin for his transcript being leaked, when he could never have expected them to become public.

"Well, at least I know more about Vacuo," Jaune said with a smile on his face. "Honestly, maybe it was for the best that this happened. I mean, I know the huge differences between Vale and Vacuo, and yeah it will take time to get used to it, but I'm somewhat glad that things happened the way it did."

Belinda raised her head and grew a small smirk on her face when she saw Jaune smiling. "I was right," She said. "I _will_ be proud to have you as a student here."

"Well then," Leonardo said. "Now that Jaune's in, I think it would be a good idea for you to find a room for him, and to tell the others he's fine, right Belinda?"

Belinda sighs and stands up. "I guess I can't put it off any longer. Is he okay to stand up and walk around?"

"Okay is debatable, but he can do it."

"Smartass."

The two of them share a chuckle. Jaune could sense that the two are old friends, probably on the same team or something. "Yeah, he'll just be sore. Oh and wearing shirts is going to be a pain with the burn scar. While the disfigurement will stay with you forever, the burning sensation will only last about a week or two."

"Anything else I need to know?" Jaune asked as he slowly leaned up. He was still in some pain, but now that his body was used to being awake, the stiffness and pain wasn't as surprising. He stood up and began moving around a little bit more.

"Well, other than what I said, not really. Just the usual 'don't work too hard' crap."

"Good to know. Where's my sweatshirt?"

"Ah I'll go get it." Leonardo went off and grabbed Jaune's sweatshirt. Once he gave it to him, Belinda and Jaune left the infirmary. As he walked the halls with Belinda, it finally dawned on him: Jaune Arc was a student of Shade Academy.

 **To be continued.**

 **So this is it for Arc 1 everyone! I'm sorry this chapter was a little shorter than usual but I hope you all enjoyed the arc as much as I did writing it. Now it might be a while before I post the next chapter but this story is still going to be running. See you all in little bit.**


	14. Arc 2 Chapter 1

**Beacon:**

The city of Vale is suffering. Huntsmen are no longer being trusted, half of the city is still in ruins, and the hunters in training are beginning to lose faith in themselves and the title itself. Yet, Ozpin is somehow keeping the students together. A few days after the breach, he gave a speech that stopped some students from leaving the school. The cafeteria was a testament to that.

The cafeteria was as lively as ever, despite the missing students. Not only were students from the other schools gone, but the school itself suffered a drop in student enrollment due to the attack on Vale. Some of whom were because families were refusing to pay for their child to go to a school that let a fraud in deliberately and because of what the voice said at the festival. How could Ozpin let a fraud in, have a student break another's leg with no remorse and be okay with it? Students themselves were leaving for the exact same reason. Some left because they didn't trust the school anymore after letting Beacon get attacked twice now, and some left because the students couldn't handle the stress of a huntsman after seeing the city attack two times.

Despite all of that, it was as if none of that happened. At a specific table that sat seven familiar students was a testament to that. Ruby Rose sat and chatted with her teammates, Yang Xiao Long, who is also her sister, Weiss Schneee, the ex-heiress of the Schnee Dust Company, and Blake Belladona, a former White Fang member. The four girls sat and chatted with each other, with Weiss doing some early studying.

When Yang made a joke, it was met with groans around the table, except for one Nora Valkyrie, who yelled out "Boo!" Sitting next to Nora was Lie Ren, her best friend, and Pyrrha Nikos, team NPR's (Nipper) leader. After Nora's input, Yang flipped her off with a smile on her face to clarify that she was joking, causing the table to laugh.

As soon as that was over, Pyrrha's scroll went off. A few seconds later, Ruby's scroll went off as well. Pyrrha read hers and then told everyone what was on it. Apparently Ozpin wanted to see her team. Ruby said she got the same thing. Confused, both teams decided to not keep the headmaster waiting any longer.

Along the way to the elevator, they all discussed what it was Ozpin wanted. Weiss suggested that it was going to be a mission to help Vale out to keep the fragile string that connected citizens and huntsman from breaking. Ren agreed with that statement as did Pyrrha. Yang hoped that it would involve fighting people, with Nora going into details about how she would plan to break their legs, arms, and other parts of their bodies. Blake thought it would be something about the White Fang and Ruby didn't care, as long as they got it done. She said that they needed to show Vale that the students were on their side still, so no matter what, they had to give it their all. Yang smiled and ruffled her sister's hair as they reached the elevator.

After a few trips, all of them were up in Ozpin's office. The man stared at the two teams. He took a deep breath. "I am glad all of you are here," He said. He begins typing on his computer. "Now then, I'm sure all of you remember what happened the weeks following the attack. Specifically, to Mr. Arc."

When Ozpin brought up Jaune, the tone in the room changed from curiosity to dread. How could they not remember? All of them flash back to the days that followed the attack.

* * *

The crowd that gathered in front of the school was a mix of angry citizens, students' parents, and even some Huntsman. All of them may be angry at different things, but all of those things came from one place; Beacon. Whether it was anger at a certain blonde, or distrust of the students, everyone had a reason to be there in their own eyes. Some were even here about how Ozpin was playing favorites since he let Ruby Rose, the nephew of a close friend, in a couple of years early.

It was a shame. The festival has to be postponed for a few days until they can clear all of Vale of grimm as well as the arena. Hopefully by then the protesters will see eye to eye with Ozpin's choice.

A couple of students were looking out the windows of their classes and saw the crowd. One of those students was Jaune. He couldn't stop blaming himself for the crowd that was forming. The professor saw that the students were distracted by the window and closed it so they could continue doing their lecture. It didn't stop Jaune from thinking about it though.

When the class was over, Jaune would quickly try and get to his next class as soon as he could. Today was not going to be one of those days. An upperclassman grabbed Jaune's shoulder and began dragging him around the corner of the hallway. He felt the upperclassman grab Jaune's neck and lift from the ground, causing Jaune to choke.

"Where do you think you're going?" He asked.

"My… next class…" Jaune choked out. The upperclassman shook his head as he increased his grip.

"No," he said. "You don't deserve to go to your next class. You don't deserve to be here at all!" The upperclassman raises their fist and Jaune closes his eyes, expecting to feel the punches come. Fortunately a voice stopped Jaune from getting a beating.

"Let him go or I'll make sure you get sent to the infirmary permanently," a strong voice called out. Jaune and the upperclassmen look to their left to see Jaune's seven friends standing there, staring the upperclassman down.

The upperclassman growls and drops Jaune, but not before he got his final word in. "Your friends won't be able to protect you forever."

With the upperclassman storming off, everyone else came up to Jaune and helped him up.

"Thanks guys," he said.

"Don't mention it," Pyrrha said with a smile.

"Yeah," Ruby said. "We'd never let anyone do that to you. You're our friend Jaune." Little did any of them know that Ruby would be lying.

* * *

For the past two weeks whenever the students had to go out and either help rebuild Vale or get supplies, they would get hounded by the media and paparazzi. It eventually got tiresome, especially for two teams of first years.

Yang had come back from a club with a few of her friends, but instead of the normal happy party girl look, she had a more somber look on her face. This did not go unnoticed by her team. When questioned about it, Yang said she need to talk with her team about team JNPR

"My friends gave me a suggestion and I have to agree to it. At least to a certain degree," Yang said. When questioned about it, she took a deep breath. "They said we should… stay away from JNPR for a while." The reception she got was… mixed.

Ruby of course was upset, angry and confused, Blake was angry that they were turning their backs on friends, and Weiss actually could see where Yang was coming from. The argument went on for ten minutes.

"I can't believe we are discussing this!" Ruby yelled as she crossed her arms. "They're our friends Yang! Jaune was my _first_ friend here!"

"He shouldn't have been in the first place Rubes!" Yang replied. "Besides, I'm not saying we ditch them all together. Just… until the media get bored and finds something else to report on; something that doesn't put us in the spotlight."

"Yang's right Ruby," Weiss said. "We already have enough bad publicity as it is. My father denounced my rights to the company, Yang is still getting flak for break Mercury's leg, and people want to get you expelled because you're too young! The only person here they haven't reported on was Blake, and the minute they find out she was part of..." Weiss took a look around as if there were camera's in the room. She even covered up her next sentence to make sure no one could decipher what Weiss meant. "That group, the press will have a field day."

"It doesn't matter," Blake said. "Who cares? As long as we do our job, people will trust us."

"Not everyone is going to see it that way Blake," Yang said. "You of all people should know that." The cat faunus, though taken aback from her partner's comment, knew that she was right. The blonde brawler turned to her little sister and grabbed her shoulders. "Ruby, I don't care what the public thinks of me. I am only suggesting this because being a huntress is _your_ dream. I only made the suggestion to make sure that you had the best chance of becoming one. I don't want Jaune to be the reason you fail to become a huntress. I know you don't want to either."

Ruby wanted to retaliate but couldn't. She knew Yang was right. The team was already on thin ice, adding JNPR's controversy into the mix wasn't going to do them any favors. Ruby looked her sister in the eye. "Promise me it is only temporary," Ruby said. Yang looked at her with a confused look on her face. "Promise me that we will only ignore JNPR for a little bit."

"Of course," Yang said, hugging her sister. "I promise you Ruby, on my life that it will only be temporary. It will be over when the festival is done in three weeks."

Even if it was only temporary, the plan was almost enough to drive Jaune over the edge.

* * *

Jaune huffed as he slid down the wall. The sparring match with Pyrrha has ended. She walked over and offered Jaune a hand. He shook his head. "Just let me rest here for a minute… or for the rest of the night," he said. Pyrrha giggled and sat down next to him.

"You've been improving a lot these past few weeks Jaune," Pyrrha said, putting a hand on his shoulder. What she said was true; Jaune had been improving at a faster paste after the festival.

"I have to prove that I belong here," Jaune said once he caught his breath. He frowned as he remembered everything that has happened to him since the festival. From the protests, to the increased bullying, to even his sister team ignoring them, it seemed as though on certain days Jaune's resolve was stronger than ever. Jaune got so caught up in his thinking he forgot to mention someone that helped him along the way.

"Of course, you've helped a lot too." He put his hand on Pyrrha's and gave it a little squeeze. "If it wasn't for you I probably wouldn't even be improving as much as I am right now." Pyrrha smiles and places her head on Jaune's shoulder, both of their hands still intertwined. His shoulder was a little wet from the sweat but Pyrrha ignored it. The two sat in a comfortable silence for a while and Jaune spoke again. "I'm so close to proving it. I mean I lasted a full five minutes against you when you went all out!"

Pyrrha's smile dropped a little, but not enough for Jaune to notice. Jaune didn't want Pyrrha to hold back for this sparring match. He wanted to fight Pyrrha at her full strength. However, Pyrrha thought it would disheartened Jaune that he was nowhere close to Pyrrha. At least, not strong enough to last five minutes, so she continued to hold back. Granted, she did make it increasingly difficult, but she still wasn't giving it her all. Pyrrha didn't like lying to Jaune, but he was taking everything pretty hard. Especially since team RWBY was ignoring all of them.

"Hey, Pyr…" Jaune said which gained the redhead's attention. "You can go back to the dorm. I want to do something alone up here." Pyrrha raised an eyebrow. For the past few training sessions, Jaune has been staying behind. Pyrrha didn't think anything about it at first, but now she was curious. She didn't want Jaune to do anything… drastic.

"What are you going to do?" Pyrrha asked with a strong hint of concern in her voice.

Jaune smiled and said "Just some thinking. I'll promise I'll be down." Pyrrha was not pleased wioth that answer. Jaune stood up, helped Pyrrha up, and gave her a hug. "I promise I'm fine. I'm glad that you're worrying about me though."

Pyrrha returned the hug. She trusted Jaune. She said goodbye and went back to the dorm room. When Jaune knew she was out of sight, his smile faded into a frown. He walked over to the ledge of the building. His first words he spoke to Pyrrha up here rang throughout his head.

" _Pyrrha,_ _I know I'm going through a hard time right now but I'm not_ that _depressed."_

Right now, he was wondering if he really is that depressed. The little voice in his head that told him too wasn't helping matters either. The more and more he thought about it, the better that solution seemed to be.

First he lost what little respect he had in the school after the festival, then it seemed the entire country was after him, then it seemed as if the teachers were even doubting him, and now even his first friend is ignoring him. Would the world truly be in a better place without him?

"It isn't going to solve your problems dumbass," a voice said. Jaune looked around to see where the voice was coming from. He looked over the ledge and to the left to see Carding sitting on the ledge of his window staring at Jaune. Instead of the typical arrogant smirk, Cardin had a serious look on his face. "If anything, it's just going to prove everyone that they were right."

Jaune's frown softened up, but his tone was still hard. "What do you want Cardin?"

Cardin shrugged. "I guess to actually be a huntsman for once." Cardin stands up and begins scaling the wall until he reaches the roof. When he does he dusts himself off and walks over to Jaune. "And I'm doing that by making sure an idiot doesn't make the biggest mistake of his life."

"I wasn't going to do it." Cardin raised an eyebrow. He wasn't convinced.

"Nah of course you won't," Cardin says sarcastically. "You only look down every time you're up here and keep staring longer each time."

Jaune opened his mouth but the words won't come out. He knows Cardin is right. He was staring in the abyss far more often. He turned away from Cardin. "Why do you even care?"

Cardin, surprisingly, goes over and puts a hand on Jaune's shoulder. "I care, because if anyone deserves to be a huntsman it's you," He said in a calm, yet stern tone. Jaune looked away. He had to have a moment to process what just happened. Cardin Winchester, originally the school bully, the one who made Jaune his bitch-boy, and the one who Jaune saved, said he deserved to be a huntsman.

"Jaune, despite everything I did to you, you still protected me. You had every right to leave me for dead. You were weaker than the Ursa, you hated me, and I would have deserved it for all of the things I did to you and the others at this school." Jaune looked to the ground. "And yet you still saved me. Not only that, because of you saving me, I turned a new leaf. That pretty much embodies a huntsman in my book."

All of it was true. After Jaune protected Cardin from the Ursa, he wasn't bullying anyone anymore. Granted he was still an arrogant prick, but he wasn't going out of his way to make people's lives miserable. "Besides, if you do it, than who will prove everyone wrong?"

Jaune was silent for a minute. The only thing that could be heard was the howl of the wind. Cardin waited patiently for Jaune's answer. He could see Jaune shift uncomfortably. Another minute of silence passes. Cardin spoke again.

"And what about your team? Your sisters? How would they react?"

This seemed to shake something inside of Jaune. If he were to do it, some of the only few people he still cares about would be heartbroken if he did it. He takes a deep breath. "You're right," He finally said. "I can't put my team through that pain, and I couldn't even imagine what my sisters would go through." Jaune turns around and Cardin can see a few tears still dripping down his face. "You're also right about me being the only one that can prove them wrong."

Jaune walks over to Cardin and stops in front of him. He flashes Cardin his signature grin. "Thanks Cardin."

Cardin grins at him and he held out his hand. Jaune and him slap their hands together and tighten their grips. "Any time Jauney boy."

Jaune walks back down the stairs and to his Dorm, and Cardin walks over to the ledge, and scales back down to his dorm. While Cardin's talk did help stop Jaune from committing a stupid act, it didn't help with his resignation.

* * *

The festival is almost over. Two weeks of relaxing before students that stayed have to go back to their schools. Two days have also passed since Jaune left the school. Some students were happy that the fact that a fraud was rightfully in his place. Others however, were upset that their friend was gone. Teams RWBY, NPR, and CFVY were part of this group. While all three of them were sitting together at lunch, team NPR was ignoring team RWBY. Team CFVY was there to make sure the two teams didn't rip each other's throats out, and to grieve along with them. Despite Jaune not having a lot of interaction with CFVY, he was a friend of Velvet's and got to know the team a little bit.

"He didn't deserve this," Velvet said hoping to break some tension at the table. Too bad it did the opposite.

"What?" Pyrrha asked with a hint of sarcasm. "Being forced to leave or having some of his friends pretend like he doesn't exist?"

"You can't keep blaming us for that!" Yang said pointing at the red head. This caused Pyrrha to stand up and face her, with Yang doing the same exact thing.

"Would you two quiet down!?" Ruby said, trying to hide her face from embarrassment.

"Shut it!" Yang and Pyrrha said in unison. They turn back to each other and continue arguing.

"If it wasn't for you Jaune would still be here!" Pyrrha yelled. "If you weren't so selfish he would still be with us!"

"Sorry for wanting to keep our skin safe!" Yang yelled. "Sorry for wanting to make sure my little sister and my team could still be huntresses. What were we supposed to do?"

"Think about something other than yourselves!"

As the two continued to bicker, Nora and Weiss began to back their respective teammate up. This was attracting attention from other students. There is a loud slam and the four arguing look over to see Yatsuhashi's fist on the table, with Fox and Ren still quietly eating but with Coco, Ruby, and Blake glaring at them.

"Will you all stop acting like a bunch of spoiled brats?" Coco said with a fire in her voice. It was enough to send a chill down all of their spines. "Is this what you think Jaune wanted? For all of you to fight like this?"

"Jaune left," Ruby said, looking down at the table. "Maybe nothing we do can bring him back, but can we at least make sure it doesn't tear our teams apart any more than we already have?!"

Nora and Pyrrha look at Yang and Weiss, and Weisss and Yang look at Nora and Pyrrha. They all get apologetic looks in their faces. There was no point in fighting. He made his choice. The four of them go back to their respective spot and the cafeteria went back to normal, save for a few hushed whispers about what happened.

"I'm sorry," Pyrrha said. A tear rolls from her eyes. "I just… I miss him."

"We all do…" Ruby said. Everyone could tell those two were taking it the hardest. The huntress who fell in love with him, and the huntress he first made friends with; how else could they take it?

"Perhaps what you should do is reconnect," Coco said. "Just because he's gone, doesn't mean you can't all still be friends."

"Coco's right," Velvet said. "Besides, I don't think Jaune would want us to fight because of him."

All of them agreed to that. Right now, they needed to rekindle their friendship.

* * *

Much like a phoenix, the two teams' friendship began to rise from the ashes. Yes, the blame would still be there, and yes, they would continue to remember Jaune, but much like Vale, they were rebuilding.

Having Jaune mentioned from Ozpin was not something any of them were expecting however. It's been three weeks since his resignation, so why bring him up? And both teams asked that exact same question.

"Well… I figured you would want to see how he was doing at Shade," Ozpin said, a small smirk forming on his lips. The students all look at Ozpin with confused looks on their faces. Ozpin turns his screen around to show a news article.

" _A Faker's Redemption?"_ Was what the headline said. A pictured showed of the familiar blonde in a bed, bandages covering his entire body. There was shock at the picture as it looked as if Jaune was barely breathing. Once over the initial shock, all of them began reading the article.

It told of how Jaune got into that situation. It seemed a couple of days ago Jaune got a text on his scroll from Shade that said they were interested in him, despite being a fraud. Jaune took the chance, and the story told of everything that happened within his initiation. How could they know that all of this was real though?

The head mistress of the academy admitted that everything was true, as did some of the huntsman students who were with him.

When they were done reading, no words could be spoken. Silence filled the room. Jaune was a huntsman in training again. Only this time, they don't get to interact with him in any way. None of them knew how to feel about that.

 **To be continued.**

 **A/N: Welcome to Arc two everyone! Jaune made it in and both RWBY and NPR know he's okay! How will this play out? Stay tuned to find out!**


	15. Arc 2 Chapter 2

**Team BRNZ's Dorm:**

Brawnz was pacing around the room nervously. When they got back to the school, the first thing they had to do was fend off the press. Despite surviving being the number one priority in Vacuo, some people were living well enough to be snooping around other people's business. They got a couple of good photos of Jaune and everyone knew they had to explain what happened, so Nebula, Brawnz, and Nolan decided to tell the press what had happened.

When they finally got done with the many, _many_ questions that followed, they went to check up on Jaune. Unfortunately, they were told that they needed to wait for a while from their friends. Jaune's injuries seemed to be pretty severe. All of them stayed there for an hour, waiting patiently for Jaune to get out of surgery. That was until the headmistress came in.

When they all began to say it was their fault Jaune was hurt, she held up a hand and they all stopped talking. She told them to head to their dorms and rest. She said that she would contact them once she knew Jaune was better.

Well, it was night and there was still no news of Jaune. Of course, Brawnz was panicking. Jaune could still be in surgery, could be fine, or he could be dead. It was the first and the last options that freaked him out the most. Of course his teammates noticed this and tried to calm him down. The rest of them were semi-ready for bed as they were in their sleeping clothes. Brawnz was the only one that wasn't.

"Brawnz you need to chill," Nolan said as he read his _Camp Camp_ comic. He was wearing a pale blue tank top with black shorts.

"I can't!" Brawnz nearly yelled. "I'm worried about the guy!"

"Panicking won't make him recover faster," Roy said as he continued to type on his laptop. He was shirtless but wore grey sweatpants. He decided to see what the news was saying about them. While there were a quite a few articles that twisted their words, there were also a few that gave it straight. Roy looked away from the computer screen and looked at his friend. "All we can do is wait."

"I know that…" Brawnz said as he turned his hands into fists. "But it isn't it normal for a friend to worry about another one who's in the infirmary?"

"True, but for now just calm down and wait." Roy and Brawnz locked eyes. There was something about Roy's stare that calmed Brawnz down, at least to the point where he wasn't pacing around the room. Brawn nodded sat down on his bed and rubbed his eyes with his hands. He didn't realize how tired he was until then and there.

"While we're waiting," May started. She was wearing a black tank top with red shorts. She was cleaning her rifle as it laid in her case that was on the ground. Some of the pieces were apart so she could clean them individually. "Why don't you tell us about how you and the blonde became friends?"

"I already told you guys about the noodle shop didn't I?" Brawnz asked.

"You did," Nolan answered. He closed his comic book and straightened up a little bit. "Even so, one lunch out wouldn't be enough for you to recommend someone to Nyx. So spill it."

Brawnz sighed and recollected what began his and Jaune's friendship. "You guys know how Wallace said that people only pretend to be your friend at the festival?" All of them nodded. They all knew Wallace and kind of looked up to him. He was a third year that helped them get used to Shade.

Wallace went to the Vytal festival his freshman year and tried to make a few friends from the other kingdoms. Despite there being peace between the kingdoms, apparently no one wanted to try and actually try and make friends. Most of the Atlasians either called Wallace a savage or put on fake smiles, Valiens were somewhat intimidated by him and tried to keep away from him and his team, and the Mistralians kept to themselves. There were a few people Wallace made friends with, but it wasn't enough for him to speak highly of the Vytal Festivals. "Only for show," as he liked to put it.

"Well, for Jaune it actually felt like he wanted to make friends. Whenever he saw me he had that stupid grin on his face and actually kept conversations with me instead of saying he had somewhere to be like some of the other huntsmen we've encountered."

"I really hope that orange-haired prick with the mace got his ass kicked by someone," Nolan mumbled. "Piece of shit said I wasn't worth talking to."

"Anyway, no matter what he was always friendly towards me and anyone else. He then told me why he was like that."

"And why is he like that?" Nolan asked. This caused Brawnz to chuckle.

"Because of a mantra his mother goes by," he said. this caused everyone to lean forward a little bit.

"This should be good," May said.

"He literally told me 'strangers are friends you haven't met yet.'" The entire room started chuckling. It wasn't to insult him or anything like that.

"That's so dorky and cheesy it suits him!" Nolan said wiping the tears away from his eyes.

"Preach it Nolan!" Roy said.

"Anyway," Brawnz said as he regained his composure. "He was still polite and talked with me and I grew to like the guy. Like you said Nolan, he was dorky and cheesy but at the same time he was fun to be around. Whether from messing with him or from him messing with me back, I was always having a blast with him. Not to mention I saw that he really wanted to be a huntsman and save people, not just do it for glory and money. Same for his friend Ruby."

"Why don't you two marry each other already?" May said sarcastically. She had a smirk on her face as she said that.

"Ha ha ha," Brawnz forcefully laughed. "Well after that came the reveal. Even so, when push came to shove and all of us were fighting I saw him doing anything he could to help us out and any civilians. Once the fighting was over I got the chance to ask if he really did fake his transcripts. I was surprised by how he didn't even deny the fact that he did fake his transcript. I won't lie, that was when my respect for him grew. So when we had to leave, I gave him my number and said if he ever visited Vacuo he could hit me up. Ever since then we've been friends."

With their curiosity satisfied everyone went back to their own thing for another five minutes. After the five minutes were up, a buzz in Brawnz's scroll caused him to check it. All it was was a text from the headmistress and it was a room number. Nothing else, no context, no words, it was just the room number.

"Hey guys," Brawnz said. Everyone looks back at him. "I just got a text from the headmistress. It says room and then a number next to it."

"What number is it?" Roy asked. Brawnz showed the room number. "Isn't that on our floor?"

"Yeah it is," Nolan said when he took a look. "Maybe she wants to meet us there?"

"I guess," Brawnz assumed. "Let's not keep her waiting."

"Right," Everyone in the room said. Once they made sure they were dressed and ready they left their dorm room and locked the door.

 **Team NDGO's Dorm:**

While NDGO wasn't as worried about Jaune as BRNZ was, the thought that he was in surgery still lingered in the back of all of their heads. They were all getting ready for sleep since it was night and they were tired from the initiation and from everything they went through. Their shower was currently being used by Gwen. Everyone else had already used it and they were in their sleepwear.

Nebula was on her bed watching their T.V which was showing some sci-fy adventure about an asshole grandfather with his idiotic grandson. She wore a purple t-shirt with black shorts that stopped halfway down her thighs. As she watched the show, she would occasionally check her phone to see if the headmistress updated them about Jaune's condition.

Dew was on her bed with her laptop in her lap. She was continuing her music mixing. All she had on was a black tank top, with matching underwear. Octavia was just watching some videos on her scroll as she lay in her bed. She had a blue crop top on with long grey sweats.

"So you think Jaune's going to be okay?" Nebula asked her team. Dew removed her head phones and looked at Nebula.

"What was that?" She asked as she didn't hear her. Nebula repeated the question and Dew chuckled. "The guy is stronger than he looks, he'll be fine."

"He did take a couple of blows from a charger," Octavia said.

"Well I mean, I helped him out a little bit."

"That's true," Nebula said. "Still I guess we shouldn't worry about it until tomorrow."

"Yeah," Dew said as she closed her laptop. "No point in having it keep us awake, right?"

"Have what keeping us awake?" Gwen asked as she stepped out of the bathroom. Steam followed her out of the bathroom as the warm hot air in the bathroom met the cool air of the room.

"The fact that Jaune is still in the infirmary," Nebula answered. "Think he's all right?"

"Mm hm," Gwen nodded. She walked over to her own dresser and started getting dressed.

"Think he'll get a gnarly scar somewhere?" Octavia asked everyone in the room.

"Well that burn mark is definitely staying on him," Nebula stated. Every one of the girls nodded in agreement with that. Well everyone except Gwen. This did not go unnoticed by her friends. It seemed whenever Jaune was brought up, Gwen stayed silent and to herself. No… it was more than that. It seemed whenever any guy was brought up Gwen went silent.

They thought it was weird since she actual had a boyfriend and thought that having one would help her open up more. Even so she was always shy talking about guys in general so they thought she was taking baby steps.

A few minutes went by of idle chat when Nebula got a text on her scroll from the headmistress. It was just a room number, the same one that team BRNZ got. Nebula tells her team about the text and suggests they check out the room.

"Does this mean I have to put on pants?" Dew asked semiserious.

"Now, Dew," Nebula said as she got off her bed. Whether she wanted to admit it, leaving the bed was hard. She was tired as were everyone else, but they had to make sure Jaune was okay. The blonde sighed, and set her laptop down on her bed and got on grey sweat pants. Gwen finished getting dressed. She wore a white t-shirt with black shorts that went to her knees. "Onward to the room!" Nebula said in an adventure like voice.

 **Three minutes later:**

The two teams got to the room roughly the same time. NDGO was about thirty seconds behind BRNZ. When they reached it they saw BRNZ arguing over something.

"You do it!" Roy said.

"No you do it!" Nolan said.

"We probably shouldn't even do it in the first place guys," May said a little annoyed with her team.

"Look can we all just calm down?" Brawnz said as he raised his hands. As the team continued to argue NDGO snuck up behind them, startling them when Octavia first spoke.

"What's going on guys?"

Team BRNZ jumped and turned around to see the all-girl team walking up to them. Both teams got a good look at one another and saw a lot of fatigue on their faces. Everyone's eyes were puffy and had some bags under them. Not to mention most of them looked like zombies. They were irritable and tired but all of them stayed up just to see if Jaune was okay. All of them stayed up to make sure he was okay.

"So what are you all arguing about?" Dew asked.

"Well Brawnz and I want to wait out here for miss Nyx and these two Yahoos want to open it and see if she's in there." May said

"Well why not check?" Nebula asked.

"Well what if she doesn't want us to go in there?" Brawnz asked.

"Why would she text all of us and not want us to go in?" Dew asked.

"That's what we said," Roy said. "But then they said their point of view and now we don't know if we should or not so we were arguing over who goes in first."

"Well why not all of us go in?" Octavia asked.

"I ain't getting yelled at if we're wrong," Nolan said with his hands up defensivly.

Slowly the bickering turned into loud arguing. All of them were so busy talking over each other they didn't notice the door opening up. The person who opened said door was trying to get their attention but to no avail. Eventually he took a deep breath and then yelled.

"GUYS!"

Everyone turns around to see the blonde they all wanted to see. Other than a few bumps and bruises and looking tired he was fine. He was also wearing a blue onesie. Eveyone stopped and stared at him for a few seconds. With all eyes peering on him, Jaune took a step back, a little intimidated. "So uh… what's going on?"

There is silence for a few seconds before the sound of someone trying to stifle in a laugh. Then everyone in the hallway burst out into laughter or has a smile on their face. Jaune looks at them with a confused look on their face. "What's so funny?" he asked.

"Dude!" Brawnz said as he recovered. "What is with that get up?!"

"You mean my jammies? What about them?"

"Why are you wearing a onesie?" Dew asked still chuckling.

"What? It's comfortable!"

"Dude you look like a dork!" Nebula exclaimed.

"Will all of you shut up!" another voice said. Everyone turns to the next door over to see a faunus with droopy dog ears was peeking out of the doorway. "Some of us are trying to sleep!" The faunus slam the door shut and presumably went back to sleep.

"Okay look, let's continue this inside all right?" Jaune suggested. Everyone agreed and followed Jaune into the room.

Once both teams were in the room Jaune closed the door and turned towards them. He clapped his hands together and took a deep breath. "So… what's up?"

"Well… how are you feeling?" Brawnz asked. "I mean are you good to go? You feeling all right?"

"Yeah, yeah!" Jaune answered he rubbed his neck and moved his head around. "I mean I'm a little sore but I'll get better. What are you guys doing here?"

"The headmistress texted us this room number," Nebula said as she waved her scroll. "We figured she would want us to meet her here. We didn't realize this was your room."

"Speaking off," Octavia intervened. "Who are you bunking with?"

"Uh… no one," Jaune said. "I'm by myself."

"Lucky bastard!" May said. "I wish I could get a big room all to myself."

"Oh glad to see we're _such_ good company to you May," Nolan said in a sarcastic tone. May turned to her friend with a small smirk on her face.

"Bite me."

"I would if you'd let me."

"Ah!" Brawnz exclaimed.

"Dude!" Roy complained.

"Yeah that was a little much there bud," Dew commented.

Gwen pointed into her mouth and made a gagging noise. The others just smiled and chuckled at the antics.

Jaune liked this. He hasn't felt this way in a while. A long while. This… warmness. Sure he's had a few jobs after shit hit the fan, and he had a small place to live despite it being in a shanty town, but that was surviving. This? This is more than that.

Jaune smiled and flashed his big toothy grin. This didn't go unnoticed by Octavia or Nebula. "What are you smiling about dude?" Octavia asked.

Jaune chuckled and rubbed the back of his head. "Nothing just… happy I guess."

"About what?" Nebula asked. Jaune shrugged.

"Just… in general."

"The smile looks good on you dude," Octavia said.

"I agree. It's nice," Nebula said. Jaune blushed at the comments they made.

"Well," Brawnz said as he slapped Jaune on the back. "Now that we know you're okay, we'll let you rest man."

"Yeah, good night Jaune," Roy said. Everyone soon began to walk out and gave Jaune various good nights. The final one was Nolan who gave him a fist bump. When his door was closed Jaune took a deep breath. He was ready for an actual rest, and not a forced rest because he was knocked out.

Jaune slipped into his bed and stared at the ceiling and then he looked over and saw the three empty beds. He had debated whether or not to get rid of them. He decided to keep them just in case he gets placed on a team. Better to be prepared right?

Jaune closed his eyes and slowly drifted into what he hoped would be a peaceful night's sleep.

 **To be continued.**


	16. Arc 2 Chapter 3

**The next day, with Jaune:**

It was not a peaceful night's rest. Jaune woke up with a yell and with sweat beading down him. He looks around and at his hands and then lets out a sigh. "Just a dream…" He said. He should've known that a dream like this would happen. The bandits were the first people he killed. It shouldn't be a surprise that he has a nightmare about it. He decides to talk to Leonardo about it later.

The nightmare was just like the last one, but this one was scarier. The reason being was Jaune heard nothing and said nothing. Even if he could the sound never escaped from his mouth. All he saw was the bloody bodies that were caused because of him. He could see every second of the girl choking on her own blood from her tongue being chewed out.

He could also see every punch he was making on the other girl. How her face went from clean and smooth, to nothing but a big lump of black and blue bruising. After that it was the burning corpses. The explosions he and Nolan set off caused a quite a few bandits to die, either from being crushed or from burning due to the fires. Jaune wanted to help them. All of them. He wanted to stop himself but all he could do is watch as the life slowly drifted from his victims eyes.

Jaune shakes his head. The nightmare was over, he needed to keep his mind of it. He gets off the mattress and stretches a little bit. He unplugs his scroll from the charging station and looks to see its 7:00, and pockets it. It was still a couple of days until classes started again despite the few days Jaune had for initiation so he decided he would try to get used to the school as fast as he could.

Jaune wanted to grab his sweatshirt that he and his sisters ate 50 boxes of cereal for, but it had a bunch of burn holes in it. Jaune sighed. He didn't want to disrespect his family but at the same time he wasn't going to wear a sweatshirt with holes in them.

Jaune decided to wear a regular black t-shirt for today. He would ask around see if he could find something help sew it up or maybe ask for another one online.

Once Jaune was dressed, he grabbed his key and his scroll and exited the room. He locked his door and took a deep breath. He had no idea where the cafeteria was, but he was sure if he walked long enough he would find it.

After a few minutes of walking he starts to notice some signs around the school. He was thankful for that because he was soon able to find the cafeteria. When he entered the cafeteria, the smell of many breakfast items filled his nostrils, and caused his stomach to growl in response.

Jaune grabbed a plate and decided to grab his usual breakfast. Toast, eggs, and a couple strips of bacon. He was actually surprised that Shade had some of this stuff, due to it being in the middle of a giant desert. But he realized that Shade could be trading with some of the other kingdoms.

Once Jaune grabbed his food he looked around to try and find a place to eat. He found a spot at the end of a table that was half full with Shade students. When he first sat down, they of course noticed him but just shrugged it off. Which was weird since Jaune was expecting a lot of hate being thrown his way. He just shrugged and ate his breakfast.

As he ate his breakfast he remembered something that happened during the breakout. It was what Roy called his semblance. Could the eye changing colors and the headache actually be his semblance? He would probably ask the others about it later. Maybe he could get some help from one of them. He doesn't really know any of their semblances, maybe someone has something similar to his.

About halfway through his thinking and breakfast, the students that sat at the other end of the table called to Jaune.

"Hey," One of them called. Jaune thought they were talking to someone else and ignored them. "Blonde dude!"

Jaune looked over to the students. There were four students, all of whom looked older than Jaune. Jaune noticed one of them was panda faunus with panda ears. He had dark skin with dark hair that went down to his shoulder, the black panda ears almost impossible to see. He wore a black t-shit with a grey vest.

"Yes?" Jaune responded.

"You're the new guy right? From Beacon?" The panda faunus asked. Jaune swallowed.

"Yeah…"

"You adjusting well yet?" One of the other's said. He was a tan skinned person with a slim build. He had blonde hair that was up in a fauxhawk. He wore a blue unzipped hoodie and had a black t-shirt underneath. Jaune saw he had a scar on his right cheek.

"Well I'm still getting used to being in a new school and all. Seeing as how I quit Beacon."

"Yeah we heard," Another one said. This was a pale skinned guy with the same slim build. He had long hair that was dyed halfway down the color green. He had a white T-shirt that had a picture of a hooded figure with a bow standing on a rock. "Want some help?"

Jaune looked at them with a confused look on his face. "Not to sound ungrateful, but why help me?"

"Well there's a catch," the final one said. This man had dark skin, a slightly muscular build and was twirling a knife between his hands. He had buzzcut hair with three lines shaved on the sides. The four of them walk over to Jaune and the one with the knife stabbed it into the table. This startled Jaune a little bit. He didn't want to know this catch. "The catch," he said. "Is to beat me in a game."

"What's the game?" Jaune asked.

"The knife game." The teen grabs the knife again. "You familiar with it?"

"A little."

"All right, you beat me, and we'll show you around."

"If I lose?"

"Nothing. No bad side," the panda faunus said.

"Oh yeah and uh," the pale teen said. "No aura. If you get stabbed, you feel it full force."

"Any questions?" The teen with the knife asked.

"Well, can I at least know the names of you guys?" Jaune said. All four of them looked at each other and nodded their heads.

The panda Faunus went first. "I'm Jake."

Scar went next. "Walker."

"I'm Dez," the pale teen said.

"Wallace," The teen with the knife said. "And yours?"

"Jaune."

"Okay Jaune, ready?"

Jaune gulped, and grabbed the knife.

 **With Nolan, five minutes later:**

Nolan told Brawnz that he would show Jaune around. Brawnz said he wanted to be the one to show him around but Nolan insisted. Since Brawnz knew that Nolan wasn't going to take no for answer he decided to let him go. However, when Jaune wasn't in his room, Nolan had to go searching.

He eventually went to the cafeteria. When he entered it he had to look around to find a crowd around a table. Nolan figured he did something stupid and was getting crap for it. However when he walked up to them he was shocked to see what was going on.

Wallace and Jaune both had knives and were playing the knife game together, with both of them increasingly getting faster. Nolan could see the intensity between the two of them, and the fact the crowd was egging them on didn't help.

The clink of both knives being stabbed between the fingers of the two can be heard over the crowd. Nolan just stared in awe to see how fast they were going. Nolan knew Wallace played this game a lot but to see Jaune move just as fast as Wallace was a sight to see. However Nolan found the courage to speak.

"Jaune?!" He called called. This caused the blonde to look up from the game. Despite looking away he was still stabbing the spaces between his fingers but they were inching ever so closly to Jaune's skin.

"Nolan?" Jaune said. Due to the distraction, Jaune eventually hit his thumb. Since Wallace said no aura, Jaune felt the sharp pain as the blade entered and left his skin. As he recoils back, the crowd all exclaim in disappointment and excitement. Jaune shakes his hand and blood drips from it. Jaune puts pressure on it and wraps his aura around it and Wallace throws his hands in the air.

"I win!" Wallace exclaimed.

"No fair!" A couple of students said.

"Yeah Nolan distracted the poor guy!"

As Jaune and Wallace tried to calm down the crowd, Nolan leaned over to Walker. "What was this about?" he asked.

"To be honest," Walker whispered. "We were just testing him. See if he had any stones. We weren't really expecting a crowd to form. We didn't realize the guy was almost as good as Wallace at the game."

Eventually both of them were able to disperse the crowd that gathered. Afterwards Jaune and Wallace looked at each other. Wallace stuck out his hand. "Good game Jaune," he said. Jaune shakes it.

"You too Wallace," Jaune said.

"Is your finger okay?"

Jaune chuckled. "I'll just rub some dirt in it and it'll be fine."

Wallace chuckled. "I like your moxie kid. I'll admit, I did not expect you to do as well as you did." Everyone sans Nolan let out a laugh.

"Well my sister and I used to do this with our pencils when we were studying. Guess I still have some skills from then huh?"

"Yeah you do," Jake said. "You really gave Wallace a bit of a challenge."

"Hey now," Wallace said. "I still won didn't I?"

"Only when he was distracted by Nolan here," Walker said.

"Speaking of," Jaune said. He turned to Nolan. "What's up?"

Nolan cleared his throat. "Well uh, someone needs to show you around right?" the third year team looked at each other and chuckled.

"Well even though you lost," Jake joked. "Everything worked out in the end huh?"

"I guess it did," Jaune said. He turned to the red haired teen. "All right, you lead the way." Nolan nods and leaves the cafeteria, with Jaune following him.

"So what kind of tour am I getting?" Jaune asked.

"Dispends," Nolan said in a snide tone. He turns around and faces Jaune but continues to walk backwards. "How much you willing to pay the tour guide?"

"I'm broke."

Nolan scowls. "In that case you get the 'get some money ya bum' tour."

Jaune puts on a fake surprised face and asks. "How's that work?"

Nolan chuckles and says "I kick you in the ass and yell 'Get some money ya bum!' and we go on our merry way."

"Sounds like discrimination, _great_ for business."

"Well if you feel like our services are unfair, you can call us at 1-800-eat a dick." Jaune puts his hand on his chest and fakes resentment.

"How dare you! I am a student of one of the most prestigious combat schools out there!"

"So am I! I'm just here to pay off my student loans." Jaune gets a big grin as he comes up with his next line.

"Oh you poor thing you actually have to pay for those?" Nolan raises an eyebrow and smirks.

"Well not all of us coast on the name of our family."

"That's because your family has done nothing noteworthy."

"At least my family still accepts me as a son."

Jaune feigned a hurt tone. "Ouch, that stings man."

Nolan knew that it was all in great fun, but part of him actually did feel a little bad for bringing up Jaune's family, as he was unaware if Jaune would still be hurt by it. "Sorry man. that was probably a little too much."

Jaune, being the awkward kid that he is, just chuckled at it. "It's fine, we were just messing around and it got out of hand." Jaune accepted that his family essentially kicked him out. Which is why he laughed it off. It still did sting a little bit though, hence the awkward laugh. "Besides you're not wrong."

"Maybe but I still feel bad," Nolan said. "But you have to admit it was good right?"

"I wouldn't have laughed at it if it wasn't." Nolan and Jaune let out a chuckle. Nolan shook his head.

"All right, well I'll give you the grand tour. Follow me O mystic blonde one!"

Jaune does a little bow. "As you command, yee of red headedness."

The two share another laugh and Nolan begins the tour.

 **One tour later:**

Jaune actually likes Shade. Sure it was big but so was Beacon, and they had a lot of extra stuff too. Their gym was amazing, it had mats for sparring, some boxing rings, various forms of strength and cardio machines, various forms of dumbells and other weights, and they even had a pool.

They had a big workshop to work on weapons and other tech as well. Jaune probably wouldn't need to use it as often as others would, but he was glad to have it around just to be safe. He could also probably find a sewing machine or something in there to help with his sweatshirt. Jaune could hear the banging of hammers, the sound of drills and welding tools, and people talking with others about their designs.

The dorms were about what you would expect. There were a few common areas around the building with a bunch of activities like pool, table tennis, and a TV to watch. Each floor had a kitchen on it for anyone who wanted to use it so Jaune could make some of his own food is he wanted. He just needed a place to store the ingredients.

Lastly were the classrooms. All of them were a lot like Beacon's, and each hallway was for a specific subject. Of course Jaune didn't know his schedule so he had no idea which of the classes was his.

"So yeah, that's Shade," Nolan explained at the end of the tour. "What do you think?"

"It's pretty cool," Jaune said. "Although, I just wish I knew my schedule."

"I think you should go see miss Nyx about that as soon as possible," Nolan suggested.

Jaune put his hand to his chin and thought about it. It did seem the most logical thing to do. He could get the schedule today, and go meet his teachers tomorrow. He nods his head at Nolan. "Thanks for the suggestion Nolan," He said.

"No problem. You know the way right?"

Jaune shrugged. "I have to see if I do eventually, right? I'll find it."

"Cool. See you around Jaune." Jaune waved goodbye to Nolan and Nolan did the same. Jaune walked around the school, seeing if he can remember where the headmistress's office was from Nolan's tour.

After a few minutes he still hadn't found the elevator and was getting a little annoyed. So annoyed that he wasn't looking at where he was going which caused him to crash into a person. Both of them fall onto their butts and they both groan.

Jaune looked up to see Gwen from NDGO. He gets up and began apologizing. "I'm so sorry about that! I wasn't watching where I was going." He offered the black haired girl a hand but she looked away from him and got up on her own.

"It's my fault," She said meekly. She rubbed her arm. "I was texting my boyfriend and didn't see where I was going."

"Well at least you had a reason to be distracted. I just didn't see you." Jaune lets out a tiny chuckle expecting her to do the same. However she just looked at the floor as she continued to rub her arm. Jaune raised an eyebrow. "Is everything okay?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure? You won't even look at me. Am I that intolerable?"

Gwen looked at Jaune and her face grew a little pink. She puts her hands up. "No no!" she said. "It's not that! It's just… my boyfriend gets very jealous whenever I talk to another guy."

To Gwen's surprise, Jaune chuckles. "That's it? A little jealousy makes it so you can't talk to other guys?" Gwen nodded her head. "Well, think of it like this. If he gets jealous, it just means he still wants your attention right?" Gwen tilted her head to the side, not getting where Jaune was coming from. "If he didn't get jealous it means that he wouldn't care about your guys' relationship."

"Huh… I guess you're right." Gwen flashes a soft smile. "Thanks. I never thought of it like that."

"No problem." Jaune gave Gwen his normal goofy smile. Seeing the smile made Gwen feel warm inside for some reason.

She looks towards the ground and takes a breath. "Listen, I am sorry for how horrible we treated you during the initiation."

"You don't have to be, I understand where you all were coming from. Besides, you made it up by making sure I was okay! I appreciate it."

"Yeah, no problem." The two continued to talk a little bit. Jaune learned that Gwen was dating a second year for a few months, and she said he was helping her get out of her shell. He also learned that Gwen was a master at stealth as whenever she was in stealth situations in combat training she got the highest marks. Gwen learned a little bit about Jaune's sword and his life at Beacon.

After a while Jaune realized he needed to do something. "Hey, do you know how to get to Miss Nyx's Office?" Gwen tells Jaune the directions to get to the headmistress's office. "All right, thanks Gwen, I'll see you around. I got to see her about my shecdule."

"All right, bye Jaune," Gwen said softly. Jaune waved goodbye and Gwen did the same as they part ways.

What Jaune would experience on his way to the office he will not forget.

 **To be continued.**


	17. Arc 2 Chapter 4

Jaune was able to find the stairs to the elevator that reaches Belinda's office. He was so happy to find them and reminded himself to thank Gwen later. However as he reached the elevator he heard a yell come from behind him.

He turns around only to be tackled by a masked figure. The masked figure struggles to get on top of Jaune and when he does he straddles Jaune. Jaune could see he was wearing a ski mask and was covering his entire body to hide who he was.

The masked figure pounds down onto Jaune with vicious left and right punches. Jaune gets his foot underneath his assaulter and kicks him off. Jaune scrambles to his feet but doesn't make it as he is kicked in the gut. He falls to the ground clutching his stomach. The guy grabs and lifts Jaune and holds him against the wall he repeatedly punches Jaune in the face until he slumps on the wall. The masked figure then puts his foot on Jaune's head and puts pressure on it causing Jaune to groan.

Jaune uses his eyes to look for any kind of advantage he could use. His eyes turned his vision a shade of red and a circle began moving around in his vision. A white text in the corner of his eye read " _ **Scanning…**_ " The circle then lay upon the one weak point he could exploit. White text next to it said _**Weakness #5. Suggested action: Punch very very hard.**_

Jaune could tell this person was a guy, and every guy had the one same weak spot. Jaune used his hand to grab the boot on his face and move it to help get at a good angle. He then pulled back his other arm and aimed right into the testes.

The assaulter lets out a loud yell and grabs his crotch area. Jaune uses this chance to get up. His instincts then kick in. He knows he is out of his league. Jaune turns and runs from his attacker. If he stayed to fight he knows he'll lose.

As he ran Jaune felt a little sickened with himself. Sure it was necessary, but he was always taught to fight with respect and dignity. Punching another dude in the nuts was neither of those things. He continued to run but still felt a little dirty.

Despite the head start Jaune had, the attacker caught up to him fairly quickly. Jaune looked over his shoulder to see his masked assailant right on his heels. Luckily they were about to enter a crowd that was in the middle of the hallways. Just like any old school, some students still block hallways. Jaune learned how to run through crowds without causing too much of a disturbance when being chased. He learned it at Beacon from Ren, and got more experienced with it during his time working as a messenger and informant at a shifty bar in Vale.

Jaune's vision turned red again and white text appeared again. This time instead of scanning it decided to give Jaune some options.

 _ **Current Options:**_

 _ **Option 1: Continue running.**_

 _ **Option 2: Hide within a crowd.**_

 _ **Option 3: Turn and fight opponent.**_

Jaune didn't have a lot of time to react and decided that option two was the best one. As he turned the corner he noticed a bunch of students in the hallway talking with each other. He thanked the gods for cutting him a break.

"Sorry!" Jaune called out as he entered the crowd. A couple of people swore at him but more swore at his assailant as he did not apologize. Jaune shifted his way through the crowded as fast as he could. That was until he slowed down and pretended to be a normal person. His assailant was so focused on finding a running person he didn't notice Jaune stopped to blend in with the crowd. He moved right past Jaune and Jaune took that as the sign to get out of dodge.

However, just as Jaune exited the crowd, he accidentally bumped into someone who had there weapon out. It drops to the floor and the guy yells at Jaune. "What the hell is wrong with you blondie?!" the assailant turned and saw Jaune, causing him to give chase again.

"Sorry!" Jaune yelled as he ran away. Jaune turned a corner while his assailant chased him. However once the assailant turned the corner he is met with a punch in the face. The assailant falls to the ground and Jaune keeps running from him. The assailant growls and stands up to chase after him again.

The assailant turns another corner only this time more carefully only to meet a bunch of doors. However one was wide open and he knew Jaune entered it. He enters the room to see it's a class. The assailant carefully looks around to see if he is hiding under the desks. He would catch a break however as a scroll just went off. In the closet.

He slowly approaches it and cracks his knuckles as he does. He opens the door and lifts his fist only to find that no one was in there. Or so he thought. The next second he is met with two shoes right in his face.

Jaune hops down from the roof of the closet he was in and grabs his scroll, which he set a timer on to trick and ambush his assaulter, and ran away. The assailant growls as he pounds the ground and chases after Jaune again.

Jaune moves through the hallways as fast as he can. Zigging and zagging through students, doors opening and everything in between to get away from his attacker. He looks behind him to see he lost his attacker. He stops leans on a railing next to some stairs, catching his breath. As he did he tried to think of what he did to deserve this beating.

At first he thought it was Malcolm, but he saw that his assaulter didn't have the bull horns. Not to mention he was smaller than Malcolm. However he wouldn't get any longer to think about who it was because he heard the yell of his attacker again. He turns to see the attacker charging at him. However he jump and lifts his leg to attack Jaune. A flying kick. Jaune dove out of the way, causing the attacker to panic.

"No no no no!" he yelled as he fell down the stairs. He let out a loud grunt as he hit the stairs and continued to stumble to the bottom. Again, Jaune runs away.

Jaune figured with him having to climb the steps, he would be able to get back to the elevator without the tail. So that's what Jaune did. He reached the elevator and pressed the call button. As he did, he kept an eye out just in case the assailant came back. Fortunately, the elevator doors opened and Jaune quickly went inside.

He pressed the button to go to Belinda's hallway and relaxed as the doors began to close. But fate was not on his side. Just when the doors were mere inches apart, fingers stopped in the middle of them causing the doors to open up again. The attacker was glaring at Jaune as the doors opened, causing Jaune to whimper.

"You are so dead!" the attacker said. He slams into Jaune and holds him against the wall of the elevator. He then knees Jaune in the groin and tosses him out of the elevator. Jaune clutches his crotch and the assaulter steps out of the elevator.

"Not so funny now is it?!" he said. His voice was kind of high pitched now that Jaune thought about it. Not that it mattered since he grabbed Jaune and shoved him back into the elevator. Jaune's head hit one of the metal bars and not only did he get a throbbing headache he also saw his vision get blurry.

The assaulter grabs Jaune's neck and pins him against the wall. He pulls back his arm and punches Jaune repeatedly in the face. However Jaune eventually had enough. He growls and grabs the assaulter's head, and headbutts him, causing him to unpin Jaune. Jaune then takes the opportunity to kick him out of the elevator. The doors begin to close but the assaulter tries to crawl to the door to stop it from closing. However, Jaune removed his left shoe and chucked it as hard as he could at the assaulter. The shoe hit him right in the nose, causing the assaulter to stop in his tracks and clutch his face. The elevator doors finally close, and once Jaune felt the elevator move up, he officially relaxed.

He leaned against the railing in the elevator and let out a big sigh. He puts his hand to his face only to realize that stung when he touched his eye. He carefully touched his eye and could feel that it was swelling a little bit. He sighs and tries to keep his mind off of it.

The elevator doors open and he walks down the familiar hallway of statues and paintings. He then knocked on the door at the end of the hallway. The familiar voice of the headmistress rang out. "Enter!"

Jaune opened the door and entered the messy office/room combo. He sees the headmistress at her desk writing something. She looks up from her papers to see Jaune. She was about to greet him but looked at the bruises and marks on him. "Sweet mother of Luna and Shawcross," She said. "Did you spar with someone already?"

"No," Jaune bluntly said. "Some student in a ski mask assaulted me for some reason. Who even brings a ski mask to the desert?"

"Did you notice any distinguishable features?" Her tone was that of both a concerned parent and an investigator. Jaune shook his head.

"No, he was covered completely. However I did hear him speak."

"That's all? I can't really distinguish a lot from a voice."

"Unfortunately yes that's all. I couldn't even give you a skin color."

"Well that's fine but are you okay? Do I need to take you to Leonardo?" Again Jaune shook his head. He didn't want to be admitted to the infirmary again the day after he got out.

"No, I'll be fine. But that's not why I came here."

"Well even so can you at least try to explain this person?" Jaune nods. He tries to remember each detail he could. He was able to see his eyes but didn't get a good look at them.

"I only saw his eyes which I think were a brownish color, and his voice was a little higher pitched, but not enough to be a girl's. They had no distinguishable faunus features either. He was little bit more muscular than me."

"What about his fighting style?"

"Uhh…" Jaune remembered throughout the chase what his fighting was like. He was fast enough to keep up with Jaune, which thanks to his training with his old partner he grew faster and more agile. Whenever he hit Jaune he hit him with enough force to leave obvious marks and a strain on his aura. However while he was pursuing Jaune he didn't seem to care about barging into people even in a crowd. Not only that, he did a flying kick near stairs, a foolish move.

"He is strong and quick, but either had tunnel vision or didn't care about others getting in his way. Also not the smartest, he did a flying kick at me when we were near stairs, which resulted in him falling down them. Whenever he hit me it was pretty harsh. He didn't hold back. He also pinned me to the ground with his foot once, and again with his hand around my throat in the elevator. That's all I got."

The headmistress sighs and rubs her face with her left hand. "You're right it's not a lot, but it's better than nothing. I'll ask around see if anyone knows anything, hopefully they'll distinguish this from the normal fights."

"Normal fights?"

"Mr. Arc, you are in a school that is basically in the middle of a wasteland. While we do try our best to groom the best huntsman and huntresses around, it's a little hard when most of my students learned to fight the minute they walked. I will admit to my students' weaknesses and to my own. They all have to prove to each other who is the best, and I let them. Fights break out all the time around here. It usually ends either tournament style or when someone says they give up. Every now and then a person might go too far, but that's when the others nearby begin to help. The rare cases where a student is severely hurt, the person responsible will often receive harsh punishment, if not expulsion."

Jaune couldn't believe what he was hearing. He just heard the leader of a school be okay with fights. "Ma'am, may I give my opinion on the manner?" She nods and Jaune takes a deep breath. "That doesn't seem the best way to run a school." Belinda just shrugs.

"Mr. Arc, I never said it was perfect. I'd rather have my students fight and get over it quickly than have it boil inside for a while until they literally want to rip each other to shreds." Jaune nodded but still had an unapproved look on his face. "Please keep in mind, this isn't Vale. You've seen what Vacuo is like with your own eyes. Do you honestly think the way Ozpin runs things in Beacon will work here?" Jaune thought about it and he had to agree with her. Vale and Vacuo were completely different.

While Ozpin wouldn't allow fighting in the halls, that was because in Vale you only fought if you had to. Here though? You can get in a fight just for looking at someone the wrong way. In Jaune's case, it could be over nothing! Jaune knew better than anyone to humble someone, they needed to get their ass kicked. Cardin was a perfect example of this. He needed to remind himself he isn't home anymore. This isn't Vale.

He shakes his head. "You're right. I understand, but I still don't like it." Belinda smiles.

"I'm glad you can see where I'm coming from. I have to say, for a transfer student you seem to be adapting well, all things considered."

Jaune lets out a tiny chuckle. "Well, it's not like this past year's been easy for me. I had to adapt, swallow my pride, a lot of things just to survive." Looking back throughout the year, Jaune realized how much he has grown. From meeting his first friend of Beacon to now, he's been through a lot. However he shakes his head as he remembers the original reason he wanted to see Belinda.

"Anyway, I was wondering something."

Belinda motions for Jaune to sit in front of her desk. Jaune nods and sits down in the one of the two chairs. It was surprisingly comfortable. Belinda leans forward. "I'm all ears Mr. Arc."

"What is my schedule now that I'm a student? Also, am I alone or do I have a team?" Belinda blinks and is silent for a second. She then slams her head on her desk. This caused Jaune to jump back in surprise.

"I'm an idiot," he hears Belinda say. However it was muffled as her face was still on the desk.

"Miss Nyx?"

She sighs and lifts her face, a sticky note plastered on her cheek. She removes it and rubs her face. "I forgot about your schedule. I wanted to let you know about your admission and get you your room. It kind of slipped my mind." The headmistress made a fist and knocked it slightly on her forehead. " I'm sorry Mr. Arc, I need to talk with some of the teachers, see if they have room for you. I'll hopefully get it to you by the end of the day."

"That's fine, and the team or alone thing?"

Jaune notices that Belinda closed her eyes and hummed something. Almost as if that was her way of thinking. After a minute of humming she stops and looks at Jaune again. "Well, how about I give you a choice?"

Jaune raises an eyebrow. "What choice?"

"Well I don't exactly have a three man team that wants another leader. I can see if you want to lead a five man team, but again I wouldn't expect the last leader to be happy about the demotion. So you can join and try a five man team, or join a three man team, or I can make you an operator." Jaune raises an eyebrow in confusion.

"What's an operator?" he asked.

"What I mean by operator is that depending on the severity of it, I can have you help others on their missions by having you join them. This way, you can either be joining a team of four, maybe even other operators from here or other countries. You can even join some of the teachers on their missions. It all depends on if they want you and if you want to take it. In a way it's like an independent Huntsman."

"How many operators are there?"

Nyx rubs her face and looks up to the ceiling trying to get an assumption. "In the real world about half or so of huntsman are independent operators; Mistral and here usually have about thirty some students each, give or take ten."

"Would I have to take an extra class since I am an operator?"

"No, you will have the same classes as anyone else. I may have one of the teachers call you and other operators together and discuss some things about one or twice every two weeks but nothing too severe. Any other questions?"

"Yeah, you said something about this being only here or Mistral, why is that?" Belinda sighed in annoyance. Jaune felt a little hurt and thought he was boring Belinda. "N-never mind."

Miss Nyx realized what she did and waved her hands in front of her. "No it wasn't because of you! I just… disagree with why Vale and Atlas doesn't have the program." She clears her throat. "Vale and Atlas believe that training students as operators will make them anti-social, loners, and hurt team dynamics of the team they join. Maybe it's true, but I like to prepare my students for everything. Not everyone is going to want to work with a team." Jaune nodded his head in understanding. "Any other questions?"

Jaune took a moment to think. When he couldn't come up with another question he shook his head. "All right, so now the moment of truth," she said. "Do you want to be an operator, or have me find you a team?"

Jaune thought about it. At first, getting another team sounded like a good idea. Granted he might have to win the trust of them but that was to be expected. He opened his mouth to say he'd want to join a team. That was, until a thought came into his head.

 _"What about JNPR? My old team…"_

Jaune froze at that. Belinda lifted an eyebrow at his unusual behavior. However Jaune still stayed frozen, as memories began to play through his head. From training with Pyrrha, to eating contest with Nora, to meditating and studying with Ren, to just all of them hanging out talking at the end of the day.

Those memories may have been plentiful, but the memories that mattered were the ones following the days after his reveal.

* * *

A knock can be heard on JNPR's door. Pyrrha goes over and open to reveal a third year student barging in the door. Behind her was his team.

"Where is he?" she said.

"Excuse me!" Nora yelled. "You can't barge in here!"

"Shut it. I'm looking for Arc, and seeing as how you're his team, you have to know where he's hiding."

"He left," Ren said.

"Where?"

"Didn't say." The third year glared at the raven haired boy. Ren glared back with the same intensity.

"He means Jaune hasn't contacted us," Pyrrha said. "He ran away and hasn't told any of us anything."

"Then you don't mind us searching your room."

The third year team practically ransacked the room. They looked under the bed, in the cupboards, even in the closets. When they realized he wasn't there they left the room. However, the leader turned to JNPR one more time. "If you're holding out on us, he isn't the only one that'll get a beating."

With that they slammed the door shut. After they heard the footsteps disappear, Nora opens up a window and lowers her hand. Another hand grabs on and Nora pulls Jaune up and through the window.

"Thanks guys," Jaune said. "I feel bad having you guys try and hide me."

"You're our leader Jauney!" Nora said.

"More than that you're a friend," Pyrrha said. Jaune looks at the Mistralian, who smiled and then looked at Ren and Nora, who nodded and agreement. Jaune smiled back at them.

"Thanks guys."

* * *

As the memories flooded back to Jaune, he began to realize that asking to join another team wouldn't be right. Not only would it probably be a weird change for the team, it felt like he was betraying his old team. Despite leaving Beacon, all the way to the end his team stuck by him. He couldn't just join another team. So that left the only remaining option.

"I'll be an operator."

Belinda nods her head. "Very well. I'll get your schedule later today after I have some discussions with the staff. Anything else?"

"No I think that's everything."

"All right, and are you sure you don't want to see Leonardo about those wounds?"

Jaune shakes his head. "I heal fairly quickly. I'm sure I'll be fine in a few hours."

Belinda nods. "Good bye Mr. Arc, and if I didn't say it, welcome to Shade."

Jaune smiles and nods his head. He then leaves the room, leaving Belinda the only one in there. Once the door closed, she waited a full minute before picking up a scroll. She dialed a number until a certain teacher picks up.

"Hello?" the voice said.

"Michael, it's Belinda. I want you in my office."

* * *

Jaune sighs as he rode the elevator down. Today was off to a weird start. He had to beat someone in the knife game, got a tour of the building, got attacked and defended himself, and then talked with the headmistress about his schedule and what he was going to be. And all of this was before lunch. After he gets out of the elevator he was going back to his dorm and watch some movies on his scroll.

The elevator stops and the door opened. Jaune was about to step out until his foot hit something on the ground. Jaune looks down and sees his shoe that he threw, right in front of the door. This confused Jaune as he knows for a fact that the shoe didn't land right in front of the elevator.

He slips his foot in his shoe and stands there wondering why his shoe was there. That was until the elevator door squished him a little bit as it closed with him between the doorway. The elevator squishes him and opens up again. He then walks out of the elevator, praying that no one saw him. However he noticed a few girls did and were snickering. This caused Jaune to blush and scratch the back of his head while letting out a tiny chuckle. After that he speed walked away to save himself from any more embarrassment.

 **To be continued.**


	18. Arc 2 Chapter 5

**With Belinda:**

Fifteen minutes have passed after Belinda made the call. She was emailing all of her teachers about possibly letting Jaune join their classes. Depending on the teachers she could get an answer in two minutes or she could get it at the end of the day. Despite the topic obviously saying important, some teachers don't check their mailboxes until the very end of the day.

She re-read her email to make sure it looked good, and then sent it. As she hit the button a notice on one of her monitors appeared saying that someone was taking the elevator. She switched her monitor to her hallway cameras. Another minute passed and the elevator doors opened to reveal Mr. Jett walking down her hallway. She presses the unlock button under her desk that unlocks the door to her office.

Mr. Jett opened the door and walked up to the headmistress's desk. "Hello Michael," Belinda said. He takes a seat in front of the desk.

"So," he said, his voice slightly muffled because of the scarf covering his lower mouth. "What can I help you with?"

"Have you assessed Jaune Arc's combat skill yet?" Belinda asked.

"I just got done with it as you called me." The headmistress suspected as much.

"And?"

"The boy is… well the boy is plainly not that good," Mr. Jett bluntly stated. "His hits are weak, he ran from most of the fight, and he is clearly a novice." Belinda didn't like hearing this. However she did hear the "but" coming. "But he is a strategist. He used crowds, corners, classrooms, and hit-and-run tactics to escape a fight he knew he could not win. He even tried some dirty moves when push came to shove. With a little harsher training and as long as he continues to use his wit he will be fine."

"That's good to hear," Belinda stated. The corners of her mouth formed into a small smile. She always liked to hear some of her student's progressing. However the smile turned into a stern look. "So… how did you test him?" The combat teacher is silent to this. He had an answer, but he knew she would not like it. His silence basically answered for her. She let out a low hiss. "I told you to not do that."

"You can't argue with results. Besides he was fine."

"And what if he wasn't? What if the student didn't stop? What if they continued to fight him and accidently reopened a wound he had? Were you watching them fight if the student went too far?" Again, Michael is silent. Belinda sighs. "I know I wanted you to test Jaune, but was this necessary?"

"You said you wanted me to test him as soon as possible. I'd rather have him fight a student at half strength and wounded than fight me half strength and wounded."

"I get that but he just got out of the infirmary, he got back from a bandit camp! Having him fight isn't one of the best ideas."

"Belinda, the grimm and bandits don't wait for people to get better. It's better for them to get used to fighting even when wounded and/or tired."

"I know… I know…" She sighed. "I know you mean well Michael. I know you want to help all of our students get stronger and become great huntsman. But they are all still children. Half of them have already had a hard life." Michael simply nods his head. Belinda is silent for a minute and hums something. The only sound is her humming and the slight breathing from Michael. Another minute pass and Michael speaks.

"Do you want me to stop?" He asked. Belinda opened her eyes and titled her head. "Do you want me to be a more… pacifistic to my teaching?" Belinda looks down in her lap. She wanted to help these kids get used to being a huntsman. Michael does that better than anyone she knows, despite his aggressive and extreme methods. She likes results, and Michael always gave them.

At the same time, he seemed to forget that these kids are just that, kids. Yes they were Vacuan, and most of them have tragic backstories, but that's why Belinda wanted them to have those stupid teenage adventures. Some of them have never had them and she doesn't want them to turn into heartless bastards when they grow up. This world already has too many of those, her included.

She shook her head. "No Michael. I just… just make sure that you don't go too far all right?"

Michael stands up and nods. "I understand. Is that all?" Belinda nods and he begins to leave the room, his hands behind his back. "Good-bye Belinda."

"Bye Michael," Belinda waved. Michael left the room and let Belinda continue her work.

 **With Jaune:**

Jaune was able to return to his dorm in peace, surprisingly. He unlocks his door and enters the room. He closes and turns the lights on in the relatively empty room. He takes a deep breath and sighs. He needs to add furniture in here. Something to make it less depressing. A TV, a mini fridge, a freaking happy face poster or something. Jaune was wondering what he could do to get money for it as he went to lay on his bed. He still had some cash from his odd jobs, but it wasn't enough for him to live on, and he wouldn't ask BRNZ or NDGO for money either. They had their own problems and Jaune didn't want to bother them with his.

As he started up his video streaming app on his scroll and began searching through the list of shows. As he did Jaune was thinking he could buy a very small personal TV or laptop with his money. Maybe he would even have enough to put up a few posters or something.

He put those thoughts aside and began streaming a show about a couple of kids trying to find their friend who went missing.

 **Three hours later:**

Jaune was still watching the show when he looked at his scroll's clock. When he realized it was 1:15, he paused the show and got up and stretched. He set his phone down and took a deep breath. He wasn't going to sit in his room all day, he needed to do something productive today. Something that didn't involve sitting around or getting beaten up. So he decided to try out the gym for a little bit.

He switched his jeans out for black shorts, grabbed his scroll and headphones and headed down to the gym right away. After he was done he would have lunch.

 **At the gym:**

Jaune took a deep breath as he entered the gym. When he did he was met with the sound of machines running, people sparring, and normal chatter of a gym. He stretched his neck as he slowly began to walk in the room. As he did he went through everything he was going to do.

He usually ran on a treadmill for half an hour to forty-five minutes to work on his Cardio, seeing as how he only wanted to work for forty-five minutes, he decided to take it down to fifteen minutes, but do five at a sprint. Afterwards he would do some strength work.

He got on one of the treadmills and began jogging at a steady pace. His music pumped into his ears as the air pumped in and out of his lungs. Normally he had a friend excersising with him whether it be someone from his old team or sister team, so the first few minutes were somewhat lonely for him. Luckily for him, a girl he knew would be joining him. Of course, she would have some fun with him first.

Jaune was so focused on his breathing and the slight burn in his legs that the only thing he saw was a blur of purple and black and all of a sudden his treadmill was inclining and speeding up. He let out a surprised yelp as everything slowly turned harder. Due to his hearing being covered by music he didn't hear the laughter of a certain other team leader until he stopped himself and turned the machine off.

Jaune removed his headphones and glared to his right, where the purple blur was revealed to be Nebula, who was busting her gut laughing. "Oh man I'm so sorry Jaune!" Nebula said as she wiped away a tear. "I couldn't help myself." Jaune saw that she was wearing a grey short sleeve shirt that had feint traces of wet sweat in the pits indicating that she's been here for a little bit. She was also wearing black shorts that had two white stripes going down the side of them. She also had regular white socks with slightly worn tennis shoes. The reason he says slightly worn is because they looked to originally be white but attracted dirt and grim from over use and the toe end of them were slightly bent up.

Jaune let out a low growl. "I could've died!" He said, obviously exaggerating. Nebula waves her hand at him.

"Psh, that wouldn't have killed you! You said it yourself you heal fast." She gets on the treadmill next to Jaune and starts it up. After Jaune caught his breath, he put one head phone in, put the treadmill back to normal, and continues his running. "Beside you took a charger on with very little injury, falling off a treadmill can't be that painful."

"My reputation is already in the toilet here," Jaune joked. "I don't need 'can't run on treadmill' to be another part of me." Nebula let out a slight chuckle. However she did notice that Jaune looked even more messed up compared to last night.

"Dude you all right? It looks like your injuries got worst." Nebula saw Jaune sigh as he subconsciously touched his face.

"Yeah, guess some people are still a little salty about me being here."

"Hmm…" Nebula felt bad. She knew how bad everyone here could be. Jaune increased his pace and Nebula did the same. "Look, I know the people here and let me give you a tip." The increased pace was causing heavier breathing for them, but they continued to converse.

"I'm all… ears," Jaune said in between gulps of breaths.

"Around here, respect goes a long way," Nebula started. "Prove that you're a huntsman, people are less likely to want to kill ya."

"That seems like life in general."

"True that. Even so, the reason everyone wants a piece of you is because you were the fraud. Just relax, keep training and win the fights that happen. Once they believe that you aren't a fraud, people will begin to accept you being here. Get it?"

Jaune nodded. "Yeah, I got it." Jaune realized that he has already ran for ten minutes and increases his speed until he is practically sprinting. Nebula noticed this and decided to have a little friendly competition. She increased her speed the same as Jaune's and Jaune noticed this. The two stared at each other for a second and they agreed to the competition.

The two were running at a full sprint for three minutes, their lungs were burning, as were their legs and feet. Both of them continued to push and they would go until the other one admitted defeat by stepping off or falling off. It looked like it was neck and neck by the five minute mark but half way into the six minute mark Jaune griped the sides of the treadmill, stepped on the ledges of it and turned it off.

"I can't… go any… longer," He said between huffs as he got off. Nebula smiled and slowed down her treadmill and got off of it and patted Jaune on the back.

"Not bad… Jaune," Nebula said between breaths. She stretched her arms over her head and took a deep breath. She shakes her head and helps Jaune up. "How ya feeling?"

"Like my lungs and legs are dipped in fire dust," Jaune joked. Nebula smiled.

"If you have time to joke you have time to train. What were you planning on doing next?"

Jaune scratched his head as he regained his breath. "I usually do some strength training after I do some cardio."

"Well good news, you get a spotter with you to make sure you don't kill yourself,"

"It's my body I can kill myself if I want to!" Jaune was pointing straight in the air to emphasize his point.

"Not with me around. You just got out of the infirmary yesterday I ain't letting you send yourself back again." Jaune smiled. Despite the obvious joking it was nice that he had someone looking out for him.

"All right then spotter, let's get to work!"

With that the two spent the next forty some minutes doing all kinds of strength training, mainly upper body though. Nebula made sure Jaune didn't push himself too far and Jaune was there to help her with her sets. They soon realized that it was going onto to lunch. After doing a few more sets, the agreed that it was enough for today and went down to the cafeteria.

 **In the cafeteria with team BRNZ:**

The team of four had grabbed their lunches already and were sitting at their usual table for lunch. Brawnz and Roy were watching clips from an internet show that showed soldiers standing around talking while May and Nolan were discussing some things that happened today.

"I saw a fight between a first year and a fourth year," May said.

"Really? Who won?" Nolan asked as he ate a fry from his lunch.

"Surprisingly, the first year. She pretended to be knocked out and then when the fourth year's back was turned he jumped him and knocked him out by choking him."

"All's fair in love and war," Roy said as he and Brawnz joined in the conversation.

"I still think it was weird how she attacked a fourth year," Brawnz said with his mouth full of food. He swallows and continues talking. "Why not someone in our year?"

"I think she had a big head," May theorized. "Probably thought fighting a second year wouldn't be that much a challenge. I know I would try to fight the oldest people here if I thought I was tough shit."

"You do think you're tough shit," Roy mused. "You can just back it up. This girl got in one fight, and now she thinks she's the best person here."

"To be fair, she did fight a senior," Brawnz said. Whenever first years were paired up to fight fourth years, whether in training or in the regular fights, the fourth years would almost always win. Of course there was always that one or two lucky matches, and this was proof of that.

"She did use a sneak attack to win though," Nolan said. "I mean it works but it still isn't a real fight."

"Why fight when you can finish it in one hit?" A familiar voice said. Everyone turns to see a familiar bull faunus.

"Sup Malcolm?" May said as she raised her fist, the brown skinned faunus bumps fists with her. He puts his hands on the table and leans closer to the team.

"So, I heard you guys had to carry the blonde fraud through his initiation, that true?" he asked.

"Not really," Nolan said after he took a sip from his water. "He actually got us out of the bandit camp."

"Yeah but didn't he pass out halfway through? Sounds unreliable to me."

Everyone gave slight frowns. "Give the guy a chance Malcolm," Brawnz said. Malcolm shook his head.

"He got passed initiation, any two bit huntsman in training can do that. Believe me, he isn't going to make it here. Time will prove that." The tone Malcolm used in that last part worried the team for Jaune. Malcolm was known to fly off the handle when his emotions get out of whack. The bull faunus shook his head. "Look, I'll talk to you guys later, I just came to grab some food for Marston."

"What's wrong with him?" Roy asked, hoping to steer the conversation from Jaune.

"Some food poisoning from a restaurant we went to yesterday. We're hoping he'll keep the cafeteria's food down."

"Well good luck," Nolan said. Malcolm nodded and left the team to their food. When they made sure Malcolm was out of earshot, Brawnz asked his team a question.

"You guys don't think Malcolm did anything to Jaune do you?"

"Normally I would say no," Roy stated. "But again, Malcolm is not someone who keep his feelings bottled up." He got into his fair share of fights and often won. The thing was, Malcolm was usually the one who started the fight just because of something someone said. "Remember when he broke that guy's arm?"

* * *

"You're nothing but a filthy animal!" the guy said to Malcolm's face, which was turning into a snarl. This man was visiting the headmistress on some business about needing some huntsman help. However, Malcolm bumped into him on accident. The student would've apologized but he began spewing insults at Malcolm before he could apologize. "You're no more a danger to me than a rat!"

Malcolm growled and punched the guy in the stomach. The force of the punch brought the man in the air and Malcolm used this to his advantage. He grabbed the guys arms mid-air and then turned around, slamming the guy into the ground. A small carter formed in the shape of a body. Malcolm still had a grip on one of the man's arms. He increases his grip and straightened the arm. He then used as much force as he could to punch the elbow, causing a sickening snapping sound.

The man yells in pain as he rolls around in agony. Meanwhile, Malcolm holds his arms up in the "come get me" fashion. "What's the matter?" he taunted. "You just let something less than a rat break your arm! What are you going to do?!"

* * *

The only reason Malcolm wasn't punished for this was because the crowd that formed explained what happened to the teachers. While they did give Malcolm an earful, the worst he got was two days of detention.

"Yeah, let's not forget about the time he heard someone talking about his team," May said.

* * *

"A bunch of weaklings!" The girl said to her teammates. She said this because Malcolm's team wasn't doing to hot the first few days of combat class. Anytime his team was up they would lose the fight, granted they would fight like hell and were close, but that didn't matter to this group. "I swear I could beat them with one hand tied behind my back!"

"Uh…" Was all her friend was able to mumble out as a shadow began to engulf them.

"What?" The first girl said. Her friend pointed behind her where Malcolm stood. The next thing the girl knew she was met with a giant fist in her face. The girl looked up at Malcolm in disbelief. "Did you just hit me?!"

"What?" Malcolm said. "I thought you could beat me with one hand tied behind your back? surely you can take one hit from me?"

The girl growled and stood back up, this time in her fight position, with Malcolm doing the same. The crowd that began forming knew that this fight was going to be good.

* * *

They were right. The fight was good. Malcolm ended up beating the girl, which sent a message to everyone that if they wanted to talk shit about his team they would have to fight him for it.

"Look, why don't we just ask Jaune if something happened to him?" Roy asked

"Ask me what?" a voice said. They turn to their left to see Jaune walking up to them with his food. They also saw that he had returned from either a pool or gym, and if the wetness of his clothes were anything to go by.

"Oh nothing," Brawnz said. He slaps his friend back as he sat down. He felt his back had some sweat on him, causing Brawnz to subconsciously wipe his hand on his jeans. "So how are you adjusting?"

"Was my tour helpful?" Nolan asked. Jaune nodded as he stuffed his face with his food, which looked to be some kind of pasta. Jaune swallowed ass to not talk with his mouth full.

"Yeah, I was glad you showed me where the gym was," the blonde said. "I got back from exercising with Nebula and boy does she push you."

"I'll say," May said. "You face looks like the topographical map of Vacuo!" The group all let out tiny chuckles, even Jaune.

"Yeah, but no she didn't cause this." This comment caused team BRNZ to look at each other.

"What do you mean?" Roy asked. Jaune sighed.

As Jaune explained his story again, team BRNZ was surprised and happy to hear that Malcolm didn't actually fight Jaune. At least not yet. Still though, that doesn't mean he didn't send someone from his team to fight Jaune or someone who also has a grudge against him.

Jaune didn't want to stay on that topic and began to make small talk with team BRNZ. He got to learn more about the second year team. May had been sniping for ten years, ever since she was nine. She had two different instructors, one originally from Vale, and one from Vacuo, both of whom were huntsman. She told them how she got her sniper from her second instructor, and made adjustments herself.

Brawnz told him about how he's been in Vacuo most of his life. He told him about how he's worked with his father in the mines, which is what helped him build his physique, he kept out about his first kill though. He also told Jaune that he learned to fight from his father. He told Jaune that he made his weapons from scratch. Granted all they were brass knuckles with extendable claws and a knife grapple attached to it but it's the fact that it was still his and he created it.

Nolan was very reserved about his past but told about how a huntsman helped him out of a bad situation with bandits and that's what made Nolan want to become a huntsman. He said he got his weapon from a bandit.

Last but not least was Roy. He grew up with a rich family and has had everything handed to him in his early life. However he heard and read about huntsman all the time and got curious about what it was like and asked his parents to go to a fight school. Reluctant at first, they agreed and now here he was, training to become one. He made his weapons when he first entered school.

Jaune told them about himself too. He explained how he had four older siblings, a twin, and two younger ones. He explained how his weapon was a hand-me-down from his great-great-grandfather. He told them a little bit about his life at Beacon and how much he enjoyed it yet hated it at the same time.

All of them realized it was going on past 3:00. Team BRWNZ were going to training grounds to practice team fighting and Brawnz even invited Jaune to join. Jaune politely said no and said he was most likely going to relax for the rest of the day and let his wounds heal. Team Brawnz understood this and decided to let Jaune go back to his dorm room.

* * *

As Jaune entered the empty room he sighed. He honestly had no idea what to do now. He still hadn't gotten a text from Belinda about his schedule, and he had barely anything to keep him entertained for the next few hours. He decided he would keep watching old shows on his scroll for the rest of the day.

After hours passed, jaune fell asleep watching the old shows, which would have cause his phone to die on him, but since he connected it to the charger, it was doing just fine. That night, Jaune didn't have nightmares about the bandits. Instead it was just him being happy with his new friends at Shade.

 **To be continued.**


	19. Arc 2 Chapter 6

Jaune woke up at the sound of his alarm. He groans as he hit the snooze buttonon his scroll and tries to go to sleep. Just as soon as he feels like he's going to get more sleep his alarm goes off again, causing another groan. Knowing there was no escaping that vicious cycle, Jaune begrudgingly gets up. He was still sore, but most of the soreness was from working out with Nebula yesterday.

He rubs his eyes and yawns as he grabs a towel from one of the drawers and heads to the bathroom. As he takes his shower he tries to think about what he should do today. He wondered if he could ask Nyx for something to do that could give him some lien. Obviously it would be something in the school as she wouldn't risk him getting even more inujred, right?

As Jaune got out of the shower and got dressed, his eyes laid upon the burnt hoodie he had placed on one of the empty beds. He put on a white t-shirt and another pair of blue jeans and went up to it. That's when he knew one of the things he wanted to do that day. He folded the hoodie and tried to find his backpack somewhere. Once he did he tucked it in and strapped it on.

Jaune headed to the door and was about to leave but heard the sound of his foot stepping on some paper. He looks down and saw the paper and picked it up. He read it and realized that it was his class schedule. He saw the teachers, the classes and the room numbers. He wanted to fix his hoodie but knew that this would be more important.

He decided after meeting his teachers first then he would fix the hoodie. Jaune tries to remember where the classes where from memory, and heads to his first teacher.

 **Class 1: Dust study.**

Jaune opened up the door to the classroom hoping to see the teacher preparing for class that would start in two days. His teacher's name was Mr. Sarid. Jaune was in luck as he saw a teacher with his back turned. He had just opened his closet of supplies.

"Excuse me!" Jaune said as he walked further in the classroom. The teacher noticed Jaune as he look over his left shoulder.

"Ah you must be Jaune Arc!" he said. Sarid's voice was slightly deep, enough to be slightly threatening but warming at the same time. He turns back into the closet and walks in. "You must give me a minute I need to do some rearranging."

"No problem," Jaune said. He decided to take a look around the classroom. It was practically the same as Beacon. The room was shaped in a half circle facing a chalkboard. However the top of the tables seemed to be made of marble instead of wood.

Jaune heard the sound of hands clapping. "So, how can I help you?" Sarid said.

"Well I was just going to meet all of my tea- AGH!" Jaune turned around to be met with Mr. Sarid. The thing that caught him off guard was the mechanical aspects of Sarid. He had a shaved head, and tan skin, but from his left eye and cheek down to his left arm everything was mechanical. Even part of his right arm had some pieces of technology attached to it. The tubes that flowed through it were a blue color.

"What's wrong?" Mr. Sarid asked. He then realized Jaune hasn't seen him before so it started making sense that he was scared. "Oh right, the mechanical bits."

"Yeah, uh… If I may ask…" Jaune still did't know if it was polite to ask about them. For all he knew it could make him angry because of what happened.

Sarid put his hand up which silenced Jaune. "No it's fine." He motions over to his desk. "Take a seat, it's a bit of a long story." Jaune politely nodded and went over to the desk, grabbing a chair from one of the tables as he did.

As Jaune sat down Sarid sat across form him in his swivel chair. He rubbed his face wondering where to begin. "Well… I won't give you my life story, but I will tell you I was an Atlas soldier." This caused Jaune to go wide eyed.

"You're Atlisian?" he asked. Sarid chuckled.

"That I am. I came here after the incident. I was in my first year of the military. I overheard some of my superiors talking about some kind of experiment. Me being the green newbie who wanted to rise through the ranks called them out on it and asked if I could join in."

"Why'd you do that?"

Sarid sighs. "I wanted power. From the conversation I heard, the experiment was said to give the user extreme control over dust. I wanted it. My superiors said the scientists were looking for anyone willing and asked to make absolutely sure I was ready. What a fool I was to say yes."

"What were the… experiments?"

"You've heard of dust weaving?" Jaune nodded. "What about dust fusing?"

"You mean where you fuse two dust elements?" Jaune guessed.

"Good answer, but no. Dust fusing is where dust is fused with the body of a human or faunus." That was when everything started making sense.

"So, Atlas tried to use you as a test subject for dust fusing, which ended up failing and causing you to have robotic parts?" Sarid looked at Jaune with a look of pride.

"Belinda wasn't lying when she said you were a bright student Mr. Jaune." The praise gave Jaune a slight smile.

"Thank you sir," Jaune said, his smile still beaming.

"She was also correct in saying you are very formal as well. A very nice change of pace considering most of the other students here. I mean… that is to say I do not dislike any of my students but…"

Jaune chuckled. "It's okay I've had a few… dealings with the one's you're talking about." The two share another laugh. Sarid looks at the time and claps his hands together.

"Well I figure you would want to meet the rest of your teachers today so I'll let you get to it." Jaune stood up and so did Sarid.

"It was nice to meet you Mr. Sarid," Jaune said as he stuck his hand out. Sarid shook his hand.

"It was nice to meet you too Mr. Jaune."

With that Jaune said goodbye, and headed to his next class as Sarid went back into the closet for something.

 **Class 4: Combat class.**

Jaune swallowed as he stood outside of the arena. His last two teachers were a doozy. His History teacher, Miss Camira, was an old woman. However despite her age she had these eyes that pierced your soul. She was also a heavy smoker from her voice and the fact that she was smoking one when Jaune walked in on her. Their conversation was very short and to the point as she scared Jaune.

She knew Jaune was not very good at history, which didn't help his nervousness around her. After introductions Jaune was dismissed, he got out as fast as he could. Something told him he would not like history. His next teacher was a little bit better.

He had math after history and his math teacher was Mr. Wolff. He was a wolf faunus who, when Jaune first entered, was doing complicated equations on the chalkboard. Jaune had to sit for about seven minutes before Mr. Wolff got to him. Jaune noticed he had some form of obsessive compulsion disorder from the way the room was arranged. Jaune noticed that both side of the room were perfectly in sync with each other. Not to mention that Mr. Wolff's desk was arranged in a familiar fashion.

When Mr. Wolff was done he walked to Jaune and apologized if he seemed rude. He told Jaune that he did have OCD, as he had the need to finish everything he ever starts, whether it is good or bad. After introductions Jaune excused himself and Mr. Wolff welcomed him to Shade and both went on with their days.

Despite three of his teacher's quirks, he was not ready to face his next one: Mr. Jett.

Just from overhearing student's conversations and from his first experience with him, Jaune feared him. He was regarded as the best there was when it came to combat classes. When he found a weakness in you, he made sure to tell you and everyone in class, which the students would abuse when they were matched up with you, forcing you to adapt.

Not only that, he often challenged his students to fight him as well. It was to test how far they were growing throughout the year. Most students would get the crap kicked out of them with the occasional survivor.

All of these facts not only made Jaune fear Jett, but also respect him and like him. It was a weird feeling. Jaune continued to look at the arena doors, his nerves holding him back from entering. Jaune closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He tried his best to relax. After a minute of standing at the door he knew he wouldn't get any calmer. He opened his eyes and entered the arena.

As he did he heard the sounds of fighting going on. He looks around to see two figures fighting, with another one standing and observing them. Jaune walked over to them, hoping for one of them to be Mr. Jett. He was correct as the observer was the teacher in question.

He stood strong and stoic, his scarf slightly waving from the slight wind from the fighting and still covering his lower face. Jaune still couldn't see his lower jaw due to his scarf covering it up. His robe still covered him and the scorpion like design was still visible as the scorpion was blood red, which stood out on the black robe-shirt. He was still wearing his black jeans and brown combat boots.

Jaune then noticed the two who were fighting. Well more specifically, one of them. The person fighting was Wallace. Wallace was fighting another student who seemed to be some kind of faunus as she had claws and were swiping at Wallace. Wallace was wearing a black t-shirt with a brown leather vest. He was also wearing black running pants and white sneakers. The faunus had long wavey blonde hair that stopped by her shoulder blades. She was wearing a white T-shirt with a grey sweatshirt that wasn't zipped up. She wore black leggings and black combat boots. Jaune decided to not interrupt the fight and just decided to observe it.

The faunus swiped at Wallace three times with their claws. The third time she clipped Wallace in the side, causing the brown skinned man to clutch his sides. The Faunus smiled and tackled Wallace to the ground.

"That all you got?!" She called as she pinned him to the ground. She raised her claws and swiped at Wallace four times before he was able to get his foot under her and push her off. He rolls backwards and onto his feet and growls while the girl smiles.

Wallace charges at her and jumps in the air, pulling his right fist back in the process. The swift motion caught the girl off guard as he moved too fast for her to react. She gets punched in the face and stumbles back but recovers, only to be met with a fist in the gut as Wallace charged at her again.

Wallace hit her with a flurry of punches to the face and body. However when he tried to hit her with a right hook, she blocked it with her left arm and stuck her clawed right hand into his chest. His aura still stopped any real damage, but it still hurt like hell. She then grabs his wrist with the arm she blocked with and flips him over her shoulder.

She takes out her claw and pummels his face with two hard blows. She then puts her foot on his head and begins putting pressure. Eventually Wallace had enough. He reaches into his pocket and takes out what looks to be a long thin piece of cloth. He warps the cloth around the faunus's ankle and then lifts it up with enough force for him to move his head from underneath her boot. With the cloth still wrapped around her ankle, Wallace jumps up while lifting the leg, causing the faunus to become imbalanced. With her leg high in the air, Wallace bends low to the ground and sweeps the other leg causing her to fall.

He unwraps the cloth so fast it was almost as if it phased through the faunus. She kicks back up and gets in a fighting stance. She sprints at Wallace who tosses part of the cloth her way while hanging onto another part. When she tries to hit him he ducks under her punch and grabs the cloth he tossed over her. He grips them tightly and pulls her into his back. He then rolls forward onto his back, causing damage to the faunus. He lets go of the cloth and rolls up and then elbows drop her in the stomach.

He takes the cloth away from her again. He then wraps the cloth around her arm and drags her back up. He then punches her in the face, which causes her to stumble back. However due to the cloth around her arm he dragged her back up and clotheslined her. Again, he drags her back up but this time he knees her in the stomach. He was about to attack her again but then a voice cut through the air.

"Enough!" Mr. Jett said. Both students freeze in their tracks. They straighten each other out and Wallace unwraps the cloth again. Mr. Jett walks up and glares at Wallace. "Mr. Williams, I believe I told you to not use your weapon during this exercise. Care to explain the cloth?"

Wallace smiles as he pockets the cloth. "Aren't you also the one who says to be prepared for every situation?"

Mr. Jett gave a slight chuckle. "Perhaps, but in this situation you were wrong to use it." He glares again. "I am glad that you took that seriously, but you need to stop relying on your weapon."

"Come on!" Wallace said as he shrugged his shoulders. "All my weapon is, is fist fighting with an added piece of cloth."

"If that was the case, you wouldn't have needed it to fight Miss Fox here. You could have easily defeated her because you claim it is the same as fist fighting. Yet you needed it as a crutch." Wallace was about to argue but knew Mr. Jett was right and sighs. "Despite that, I am seeing an increase in your aggressive fighting nature, with and without the cloth. A step up from your usual defensive style."

Wallace smiled at the comment. Mr. Jett then turned to the female faunus. "Miss Fox, as always your aggressive nature has gotten you a few hit over your opponent." She beamed at her teacher from the compliment. "However you still do not know of a word called, 'restraint.' Since you were too aggressive, Mr. Williams used his defensive attacks against you and force your hand when he brought out his weapon." He takes a step back so he was looking at both of his students.

"I pitted you two against each other because you both needed to step out of your comfort zones. You two fighting would do just that. Learn to fight outside what you're used to, and you'll be prepared for the unexpected. Understood?"

"Yes sir," the female faunus said.

"Yeah, crystal clear," Wallace said.

"Good," Mr. Jett said. "Now you two can continue with your day or continue sparring. It appears Mr. Arc wants to speak with me."

Jaune went rigid as he heard his name called. Mr. Jett points his thumb over to a doorway. "We can discuss in my office, Mr. Arc. Follow me."

Jaune nodded and followed Mr. Jett. Wallace give Jaune a head nod and Jaune waves back. After that, Wallace continues with his sparring partner and Jaune continues toward the office.

 **In the office:**

An office can say a lot about a person. For instance if one had pictures of family, you can picture them as a family person. If one had a bed and couch and a mini TV, you could assume they live in their office. Or in this case, you can see a bunch of weapons lined up on a wall and then shit yourself when you realize how crazy your teacher might be.

Jaune just stared awestruck at all of the weapons that Mr. Jett had in his office. They were sorted to a certain degree as it seemed all the small weaponry like garrots, knives and pistols were hung up on one end while the somewhat heavier arms, like shotguns, rifles, a fighting pole, a katana to name a few, were hung up on another wall.

"Take a seat Mr. Arc," Mr. Jett said. He walked around his wooden desk and sat down in his swivel chair. Jaune pulled up a chair and sat down. The chair was a little comfortable, but still had that feeling of This-is-a-business-chair. "So tell me, why are you here?"

Jaune clear his throat, hoping to get rid of some of the nervousness he was feeling. It only worked a little bit. "I uh… I'm going around my classes to talk and meet my t-teachers, and learn a little bit about the class."

Mr. Jett lets out a tiny chuckle. "Well that tells me why you are in my office, but it doesn't tell me why you are here, at Shade." Jaune was taken aback from the question.

"I am here to defend the world from the grimm. Why else would I―"

"Do not bullshit me," Mr. Jett cut off. "Very few, if any at all, join these fight schools to 'defend the world.'" He used air quotes as he said that last part. "Now tell me, why are you truly here? Is it because of your family legacy, to protect your family name? Is it to prove to others that you aren't a fraud? Or is it something else?"

Jaune wringed his hands together and found the floor _very_ interesting at this point. Why was he here? Teams BRNZ and NDGO often tell him that he belongs here, even some of the teachers, but that doesn't explain the why. Why go through all of this trouble? Why?

Jaune wanted to think about this, but Mr. Jett wouldn't give him the time. He sighed and said "Fine, if you won't tell me then I have no use of having you in my class. I only teach students who know why they fight." He pointed at the door. "Get out."

"Mr. Jett I―"

"OUT!"

"Just let me think for a second okay?" He pleaded. Mr. Jett looked like he wanted to yell at Jaune again, as he stood up and slammed his hands on the table. Something caused him to stop though. He closed his eyes and sighed, as if he just remembered something. He sits back down and motions with his hand.

"One minute," He said. "You have one minute to think, and give me an answer. If I don't hear one, you will get out and I will recommend you for expulsion."

Sixty seconds. That's all he had time to think. So many thoughts flew through his head. Why did he join Beacon, why did he hang around after being exposed? Why did he wait for so long before leaving Beacon? Why did he jump at the chance to be a huntsman again? Why did he go through the initiation of Shade and yet still want to be here despite everything that happened?

Forty seconds. Jaune's hands turned into fists. Why does this always happen?! Why is it whenever he gets close to a goal, it's as if the universe wants to keep screwing with him?! Why can't he just catch a fucking break?!

Thirty seconds. Jaune needed to relax. Getting angry wouldn't solve anything. Still, after everything he's done, after how much harder he had to work, why do people still think of him as a weakling? Why can't he just be like every other Arc before him?! All he wants to do is help people!

Fifteen seconds. The reason he goes to these Huntsman schools though is because… because…

"Five," Mr. Jett counted. "Four, three…"

"I want to be strong," Jaune interrupted. "I do want others to say to me that I am strong. I thought the only way to do that was to 'be an Arc.' I thought I had to be like my father, my grandfather to even the original carrier of my weapon, my great-great grandfather." Mr. Jett raises an eyebrow. "The thing is, I could have been an Arc if I stayed at home and lived a normal life. No, I wanted to be like my sister, a heroic Arc."

"Why do you want to be a heroic Arc?" Mr. Jett said. Jaune lets out a slight chuckle.

"I guess heroic is too strong a word. No, I just want to be someone who people can rely on. Someone who when they turn to me, they say 'this is someone who I know will protect me.' I want to be strong enough to be able to not only take care of myself, but other people. I know you said very few people think like that, but it's how I feel."

Jaune looked up to see Mr. Jett staring at him. The nervousness appeared again, but Jaune didn't falter. He stared him right the eyes with as much intensity. He then sees the teacher closed his eyes and let out an impressed grunt.

"A very good answer Mr. Arc," he said. "I can't say your desire is completely selfless, as you still feel that need of approval. But you are only human." He stands up and begins pacing. "I only said very few people think that way, is because very few people truly believe that they are here for the greater good. They lie to themselves about why they are here. In fact, you may even change your conviction once you've been on a few mission, many huntsman do." He turns around and sees Jaune taking in every word he is saying. Jaune was a little disheartened to hear that he might not want to still save people after becoming a huntsman.

"Even so, I sense a strong will and compassion in those eyes of yours. No matter what, you will make a great Huntsman." He then walks toward Jaune and sticks out his hand. "I will be glad to have you as a student."

Jaune looked at the combat teachers hand, awestruck at the praise he was receiving. The man who said that Jaune would die here in a few days was praising him. He couldn't help but get his signature Jaune Arc grin and shake his hand in return.

Outside the office, Wallace and the faunus girl listened in on the conversation. Wallace had a smirk on his face as the other girl had an impressed look on her face. "You were right Wallace," she said. "If Mr. Jett likes him, he's got to be worth his salt right?"

"Told you," Wallace said. He gets up and begins walking out of the arena, the faunus girl following close behind. Wallace takes out his phone and begins texting someone. When the faunus girl asks who it is, Wallace says "Some friends of Jaune. I might as well let them know that's he's on Mr. Jett's good side, for now."

"You think they'll celebrate?"

"Olivia they all just survived a four day initiation and their new friend is a good enough person that Jett's initial reaction of him is gone. If they aren't getting hammered tonight the third years have been teaching them wrong." The two of them share laugh. They know that BRNZ is probably going to take Jaune out tonight. They're sure that they wouldn't do anything too reckless.

Right?

 **To be continued**

 **Beta Reader: TheShadowOfZama**

 **Happy Holidays Everyone!**


	20. Arc 2 chapter 7

After Jaune got done with Mr. Jett, there was this massive relief off of his shoulders. Jaune could see why the students feared him, but liked him at the same time. In a way, he reminded Jaune of his father. He was strict and blunt, but when he praised you, it was as if you couldn't help but feel satisfaction from it.

Jaune sighed and took out his schedule. He still had three more classes to get to. He took a deep breath and went on to the next class, which was Grimm Studies.

 **Two hours later:**

Jaune waved goodbye to his science teacher and let out a relieved sigh. He did it, he went through all of his teachers. It was just like at his last school, all of the teachers had their quirks.

His Grimm studies teacher was actually very nice. Her name was Mrs. Devana. She had a purple long sleeve shirt with a black vest with matching leggings and shoes to boot. She was a very excitable and bubbly person. She greeted Jaune with a smile and said that she was excited to have him in her class, despite the controversy surrounding him.

When she was discussing what was going to go on in class, Jaune heard a very… well creepy undertone when she said "Learning about a grimm's weakness." It was barely noticeable to any normal person, but Jaune grew up in a house of eight women, so he was able to sense that stuff. At least to a certain degree.

After they said goodbye, Jaune went to his next class which was Language with Mr. Ezra. While most people spoke the same language, there were people that only spoke certain dialects. Huntsmen have to be able to work with anyone, and that includes having to break the occasional language barrier.

When Jaune entered the room, he saw the teacher. He was a very short man with what looked to be a fox's tail waving behind him. Jaune greeted him and the man gave a curt nod. He noticed the man was reading a book but placed a bookmark and greeted Jaune with a language Jaune had not heard from before. His round spectacles shined in the room light and his entire look just screamed "scholar."

Mr. Ezra was actually glad that Jaune was coming in as he needed to ask Jaune which language he would be taking. While they would be learning simple phrases such as "I'm here to help" and "Hello" Shade students had to pick one language to learn to truly understand it. Jaune had a few choices but since he was going to be staying in Vacuo and didn't know anything about the dialect, he knew he would need to take that language. The little Valien he had learn from his sisters and Dad wouldn't work here.

After that was straightened out, he and Jaune actually got into a discussion about how the common language came to be yet the dialects were still somewhat popular. At least to a certain degree. After a while, Mr. Ezra noticed that he was keeping Jaune and apologized. The two parted ways and it was time to meet Jaune's final teacher.

The class was science and he was meeting with a Mr. Young. Jaune entered the room to be met with what Jaune presumed was a wolf when it pounced on him. It growled at Jaune, causing the boy to shake in fear. However when a voice called out the name Shadow, the canine's ears perked and turned his head to his master. His master told him that Jaune was friendly and the hostility in the dog's eyes were gone. It got off of Jaune and went back to his owner.

The owner helped Jaune up and apologized, saying "Shadow isn't used to new people and was only protecting me." Jaune asked if he was Mr. Young and the teacher nodded his head with a smile. The two shook hands and Jaune explained why he was there. Mr. Young seemed to be a little, ironically, young and perhaps a little unprofessional as he was wearing jogging pants and a white T-shirt with a design from an action movie. However Jaune did see he took his job seriously as he went through the many things that they would discuss in class. Not wanting to take up any more of his day than Jaune already had, he said goodbye to his teacher. When he left, he reached his hand out for the dog, which was a husky, hoping that there were no hard feelings. The dog rushed over and happily let Jaune pet him. With that, Jaune said goodbye to his science teacher and was now making his way to the workshop.

When he reached the workshop, he could still hear the sounds of construction going on. Every hammer hit, every drilling noise, every little pitter patter of work made Jaune a little self conscious. He was glad that his weapon didn't have to take a lot of maintenance. At the same time, the fact that his weapon was so simple, so easy and could only be used for close range and blocking was a little disheartening seeing as almost everyone had some sort of other weapon to help them while Jaune only had the one.

He shook his head. Now was not the time to feel sorry for himself. He walked past a couple of people, some of whom said hello, while others glared at him, and got to a tailoring station. He took off his backpack and took out the bunny sweatshirt that had wear and tear on it. Jaune looked at the Pumpkin Pete logo in the middle of it and sighed. It reminded him of his sisters. He took a deep breath and got to work.

As he was working, some people saw what he was working on and he could hear the whispers and stifled giggles coming from them. It did anger him, but they didn't know how much sentimental value Jaune had to the sweatshirt, so he ignored any little comments or laughs he heard.

He was in the middle patching of a tiny cut that was made. He must have caught it when fighting Junkrat. As he continued to try and fix the sweatshirt, he caught someone coming up to him in his peripherals. Well it turned out to be two people as they sat on both sides of him. When he realized who they were he let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. It was so small that even they didn't notice it.

"Hey Jaune," Roy said to his left. He appeared to have a bag of parts right next to him. Jaune gave a smile and a nod to Roy.

"Whatcha working on blondie?" Octavia said to his right.

"Give me a minute as I finish this part and I'll show you," Jaune said. As he continued to work he made small talk. "So why are you two here?"

"Well our weapons kind of give us limited choices in a fight right?" Roy said. Jaune nodded his head. "Well halfway through my first year I realized this and decided to take up a little bit of weapon engineering. I'll admit I liked it, but at the same time, I was horrible at coming up with designs. I often had to get help from an upperclassman named Hatsume to come up with the initial sketch. In a way she kind of took me under her wing with everything engineering wise."

"Then I came in," Octavia said. "Nebula said I couldn't just rely on my little dagger and fire for everything and instructed me to do the same thing Roy was doing. While I was good at the schematics, as I love drawing, I found the actual putting together part pretty boring. Luckily I found Roy and asked for help. He said he would as long as I gave him a schematic for his idea. After working together for a few days, we finally got both of our projects done. Of course us working together came with some extra aide effects."

* * *

Octavia continued adding some extra details to the grenade she was working on. She nudged Roy and pointed at the schematic. "What if we added this here to make a hybrid?"

Roy looked at the paper as he put a spoonful of pasta in his mouth. "You want to do a flashbang along with a Stink bomb?" he asked. As the two continued their discussion, their teammates looked at them with slight smiles on their faces.

"They've really been busy with this huh?" Brawnz asked.

"I'll say," Dew said. "Octavia's been tossing so many papers in our bin it's like we've become a recycle company." Team NDGO chuckled at the comment. The purple haired leader turned to the grey gradient haired leader.

"So, why'd you make him your weapon's dude?" Nebula asked.

"We didn't," May said. "He volunteered."

"How so?" Dew asked as she took a bite of pizza.

"I won't lie that he's the smartest of our team," Brawnz said. "How I got team leader I'll never know." He shrugged. "Still though, he thought his weapon was the weakest out of all of ours."

"Which isn't saying much," Nolan joked causing Brawnz and May to punch him in the arm. He let out a yelp and rubbed both spots.

"So he told me that he wanted to create some more tools to help us. He's been our weapons guy ever since."

"So uh… w-what do you think their final project will be?" Gwen muttered.

* * *

Brawnz, May, and Nolan all yawned as they waited around in the arena. It was 9:00 at night and the room was dark as a shadow. The arena door opened again to reveal team NDGO minus Octavia entering, just as tried as them.

"What are you guys doing here?" Dew asked, obviously annoyed she had to come to the arena in her sleepwear.

"Roy wanted us to meet here for some reason," Brawnz said with his arms crossed.

"Octavia called us here as well," Nebula said. "What for I wonder…"

All of a sudden all of them hear the sounds of things clunking against the ground. Then there was this really loud sound and a giant flash of light, blinding all of them. Along with that came this horrible stench. Their senses were so overwhelmed it took them a good minute to recover. When they did, they heard the laugh of Octavia and Roy nearby.

"Oh man," Octavia said. "That was too good."

"What the hell Oct?!" Dew yelled. "What was that for?!"

"To test our grenade," Roy said as he stifled a laugh. "Thanks for being our little test subjects guys."

"Hacks!" Nebula yelled. "I call hacks!"

"Honestly it's your fault for falling for it guys" Octavia said. Roy and Octavia shared another laughing causing both of their teams to growl. The two teams look at each and shift their eyes toward the two pranksters. All of them could read one another and knew what they wanted to do. They grew smiles and all of them slowly approached their teammate, with revenge in their minds.

* * *

"Ever since that ass kicking our two teams have been on good terms," Roy said.

"I'm getting flashbacks of my sisters pranking me," Jaune muttered, causing everyone at the table to laugh. "That still didn't answer my question though. Why are you two here?"

"We're creating some of our gadgets so we can be prepared for combat class that starts up in a couple of days," Octavia said.

"Why didn't you have any during initiation?" Jaune asked.

"Because we'd thought that we'd have time to prepare," Roy said. "Not be plopped in the middle of the desert the minute we accepted a mission."

"Fair enough."

"So, what are you working on?" With the patch that Jaune was fixing now complete, he unfold the sweatshirt and reveals it to the two shade students. They both just stared at it for a second.

"Look the onesie I was okay with," Octavia stated. "Since most people won't see you sleep in it, but I will not let you wear that around here."

"Why what's wrong with it?" Jaune asked confused.

"Dude, it's a Pumpkin Pete sweatshirt…" Roy said. "You wear that and you'll get jumped every day."

"I don't care," Jaune said, smiling down at the sweatshirt. "I'll still wear it." Octavia and Roy looked at each other and nodded. Octavia grabbed the sweatshirt and held it away from Jaune.

"Sorry dude," Octavia said. "This is for your own good."

Having the sweatshirt that he and his sister worked so hard on triggered something in Jaune. Octavia held it away from Jaune but he reached over and grabbed her wrist. Octavia thought he was going to beg for it back, but is instead met with a vice grip, and a death glare.

"Give it back," Jaune said in a low voice. "Now."

"Jaune it's just a…" Roy was interrupted.

"Shut it!" Jaune turned back to Octavia, stood up, and increased his vice grip causing a slight squeal from Octavia. "Give it back."

Octavia dropped the sweatshirt back onto the table. Jaune let go of her wrist and sat back down. He let out a breath. He turns back to Octavia, but instead of the glare it was an apologetic look. "I-I'm sorry," he said. He then turns to Roy. "Both of you I… I just have a lot of sentimental value with this thing." Octavia could tell that Jaune was sorry as could Roy, but the fact that he still had that outbreak was slightly concerning. They shake it off and accept his apologies. "Look, I know you both are right but... it doesn't feel right to just toss this. So how about I just wear this during free time?" Octavia and Roy felt a little bad as Jaune was staring at the sweatshirt with a somber look on his face.

"All right Jaune," Octavia said. "You can wear it and fix it just... you know, be careful about how often you wear it, ya'know?

Jaune smiled at the red haired girl. "Thanks, I guess it doesn't help that I am still a little stressed and tired."

"Well then good news for you," Roy said. He slapped Jaune's back. "Brawnz got a text from Wallace about your meeting with Mr. Jett." Jaune was surprised to hear that Wallace was eavesdropping on him, but shrugged it off. The news was bound to come out eventually. "So as a reward Brawnz, Nolan, May and I are taking you out to celebrate."

Jaune gulped. He had no idea how they would celebrate. He was hoping it would be dinner some place. Nothing fancy but nothing cheap, just a place where they could eat, chat and just relax. For some reason Jaune doubted that. If anything, he was going to be with a team of Yang's.

Jaune wouldn't lie that the few times Yang took his team and her team out clubbing were pretty fun. Jaune wasn't much of a party guy, but she often found ways to make it fun. At the same time, she took things too far and often got them kicked out. That didn't stop her and it would be a vicious cycle of partying, getting kicked out, and partying again.

Jaune had enough trouble dealing with Yang, and now dealing with a team of them? Jaune didn't know whether to be happy or scared what the evening held for him.

"Man I wish we could join you guys," Octavia said. "Knowing Nebula she wouldn't let us since the last time you guys took us out partying."

"Hey you were cured from the hangovers… eventually," Roy argued.

Jaune sighed but smile. He thinks it will be a bit of both.

 **To be continued.**

 **Beta Reader: TheShadowOfZama**


	21. Arc 2 Chapter 8

After fixing his sweatshirt and saying goodbye to Octavia and Roy, Jaune had an hour to prepare whatever team BRNZ was going to do with him. Again, he was nervous, and excited at the same time. Jaune was not a party boy, but he does like going out every now and then. After everything he's been through, he needed to do something to relax. You know, besides just lay in his bed and watch shows. He isn't _that_ much of an introvert

Now that Jaune thought about it, if they were going clubbing, when was the last time he had actually danced? Was it really only during the Beacon dance? I mean yeah he sometimes had a fun random dance party for no reason with his friends, but to actually go out and dance in front of people? It really was at the Beacon dance. He smiles at the memory of him wearing a dress there, all because of a stupid offhanded promise. Still, he couldn't help but smile at it.

He looked around the decoration free room and sighed. He figured it was about time to make this room less… depressing. He tried to think of everything he had, which was nothing. He looked over to the backpack he was carrying around and took out the now fixed sweatshirt. He gets an idea, but he needs tools to do it. He could probably grab some from the workshop to help him hang it up. He looked over to where his scroll was charging, and that was when he remembered something.

He went over to his scroll and unplugged it from the charger, as it was fully charged, and went through his list of contacts. He found who he was looking for and heard the ringing of the line trying to connect. About ten seconds pass before someone picks up at the other end.

"You're speaking to Hei," the voice said. "How can I help you?"

"Hey boss," Jaune greeted. "It's Jaune." there was a beat and then Jaune could hear the sound of a chuckle.

"Hey kid, I was wondering when you'd call me." He could picture the smile on Hei's face. It was more of a halfcocked smirk more than anything. "So to what do I owe to receive this call?"

"I need a favor."

"Shoot."

Jaune took a deep breath. "I need some furniture shipped to where I'm staying."

Hei is silent for a second. He then lets out another laugh. "What, they don't give you enough furniture at Shade?" Jaune tensed up. He didn't tell anyone that he was at Shade. Granted, Hei always had ways to gain information, but still. That was when he realized that being carried by huntsmen students into Shade probably made it onto the news. Adding fuel to that fire was also the fact that he was the fraud of Beacon.

That meant his friends knew where he was.

Fuck.

The reason he didn't want his friends and old team to know was to not worry them. He thought that _maybe_ he could get past all the news and just try to learn. The more he thought about it, the more he knew he was a fool. Why would they let him be when he was still infamous?

That was when Jaune started to doubt himself. What if he actually changed his scroll number because he was running away from the problem? Was he really just being selfish?

"Hey kid, you still there?"

Jaune was shaken from his thoughts by Hei's voice. "Yeah I am. Sorry I was just… thinking. I was actually surprised that you knew where I was."

Hei gave a short laugh that was really just him breathing air out of his mouth. "I have my sources. You know that kid," he said. "So what do you need?"

"I think I still left my stuff in the storage locker I bought before heading out here. Would you mind sending some guys over here to help me set up? Or at the very least sending the stuff in the storage here?"

"No problem kid. That all?"

"Yeah, that's all." Jaune heard voices on the other side of the phone and heard Hei say something. Hei then talked to Jaune.

"The twins say hi by the way." Jaune smiled remembering working with the twins. The two of them were horrifying, but at the same time when they liked you, they were nice and fun to be around.

"Tell them I said hi back."

"No problem kid. Good luck at Shade."

"Thanks boss. For everything."

He didn't have to see Hei to know he was smiling. Despite being an underground informant, Hei treated all of his employees with respect. He was a little skeptical to hire Jaune, what with the controversy surrounding him, but still gave him a chance. Jaune was grateful for that, and Hei was glad he gave Jaune a shot. When Jaune worked there he did anything Hei told him to, from mixing drinks to being bouncer. Jaune more or less did the jobs, but still Hei kept him around. "Don't mention it kid, my door's always open." Jaune and him said goodbye to each other and hung up. With that out of the way, Jaune took the rest of the time to prepare himself for tonight.

* * *

Jaune had finished putting on a new shirt when he heard the knock on his door. He went over and opened it to see team BRNZ, and they looked ready. All of them had some kind of smirk or smile on their face that just screamed "Party night!" All of them except Nolan were wearing somewhat different clothes than they normally wore.

Brawnz ditched his usual gradient shirt for a purple t-shirt and a grey sweatshirt. He kept the purple scarf and black jeans but replaced his combat boots with normal tennis shoes.

Roy was wearing his regular black t-shirt but instead of a green over-shirt it was replaced with a green unbuttoned vest. His white pants were rolled all the way down and he had his regular tennis shoes on.

May had a completely different look. Instead of the jacket and track pants she had a red t-shirt that said "Fight me! See what happens!" in white text. She also had black leggings on and blue tennis shoes. Her beanie was gone so she was showing both of her greyish-blue eyes

"What's up Jaune?" Brawnz said. He looked at Jaune's attire and was glad he was going out prepared. Jaune had a white t-shirt on with an unbuttoned grey plaid shirt with his regular jeans and shoes. "Ready to head out?"

"I guess," Jaune said with an unsure smile. That was good enough for team BRNZ as they began to head out with Jaune tailing behind them. "So, where are we heading?" Jaune at least wanted to get a headstart on what they were doing.

"Depends," Roy said. "The first thing we'd thought we'd do was head to a bar and get a couple of drinks in you." Jaune gulped. He was hoping they would save that for last. Luckily May came to his rescue.

"I however said that you're too much of a wimp to go drinking right away," She said. Eh, he'll take the help despite the insult. "So we decided to take you somewhere where you would feel a little more comfortable." Jaune raised his eyebrow at this. He was actually interested to see where they would go.

 **Thirty minutes later:**

When they arrived at the city, Jaune was surprised. Since Vacuo was mostly shack homes and tents, he expected the city to be the same. He was wrong. While it did have its fair share of those, it also had a couple of more modern buildings as well. Granted they weren't skyscrapers like in Vale, but they still had a couple of stories to them. He took in the sights and he won't lie, he was impressed.

Now if only he didn't feel like he would be mugged by every corner they took. Seriously, the city was pretty nice. Nothing too flashy, at the same time it wasn't too simple either. The only problem was how the citizens carried themselves and their homes. Most of them didn't seem to care for personal hygiene and some homes just looked unkempt. Some of them also looked like they'd gut you if you so much as looked in their general direction.

Much like the school, he also saw a couple of people get into fights and people betting on the petty squabbles. After working with Hei though, and the days he spent in Vacuo, he learned to keep his mouth shut and not question these things.

When they finally reached their destination, Jaune's eyes lit up. The sign outside the two story building said "Arcade" and had the flash of many video screens inside. The poster outside the door had said something about a new game, and the neon red sign said it was open. Jaune was so happy that this place was their first stop.

Team BRNZ saw the smile on his face and knew they made the right choice in coming here first. "Well what are you waiting for?" Brawnz said as he slapped his friend's back. "Let's go get your ass kicked in some games."

 **A few hours later:**

Brawnz was wrong when he said Jaune would get his ass kicked. The truth was, Jaune was actually winning a little more than half of the games they played. However, Jaune had lost to May in a shooting game every time she challenged him. He also lost to Roy when they did the hoops game. Brawnz beat him in a couple of fighting games, and Nolan was able to beat him and Brawnz at air hockey. Still though, it didn't matter who won or lost. It was all in good fun, and boy, were they all having some fun. After enough time has passed, Brawnz gathered everyone up.

"All right," He said. "Now that's we've been here long enough, how about we do something else? I'm taking suggestions."

"Let's take him to The Pit!" Nolan suggested.

"No way!" Roy and May said at the same time. Jaune looked at them with a confused look. Roy cleared his throat.

"We don't think you'd uh... like it," Roy said.

"Why not?" Jaune asked. Everyone kind of looked a little uncomfortable. Well, except Nolan.

"Thing is we won't know until we try right?" Nolan argued. The two of them continued to argue so Jaune looked over to Brawnz.

"What's The Pit?"

"It's basically a fighting arena," Brawnz said. "Thing is they get a little too…"

"Excessive?" Jaune finished his sentence for him. Brawnz nodded his head.

"I would have said brutal but that works too," May commented. Jaune shuddered at the thought of the pits being more brutal than the regular fights he gets into.

"Yeah let's not go there. At least not tonight." Everyone gave Jaune a confused look. "What?"

"You mean you'd be willing to check it out?" Roy asked.

"Just not tonight?" Nolan clarified. Jaune thought about it. Was he prepared right now? Probably not, but he gets the feeling he'd have to go there eventually, so he nodded at Nolan. All of them get smiles on their faces and let out small laughs. Jaune gains a small blush of embarrassment.

"What's so funny?" he asked. Nolan was the first to recover.

"Nothing," Nolan said. "We just didn't expect you to answer that you'd be willing to go."

"Then why'd you ask in the first place?!" Jaune said.

"Must we have a reason to ask you?"

"I'm just asking because if you thought I wouldn't like it why would you bring it up."

"Well we wanted to make sure if you really were too much of a wimp to actually try them." Nolan's tone was that of a joking one, and Jaune followed along.

"You really want to start this now?"

"Yeah I want to start this now!" Jaune and Nolan glared at each other as they continued to get "hostile" towards each other.

"Forget The Pit," Brawz joked. "We can make one here with you two."

"Dibs on referee!" May said.

"Dibs on referee!" Roy said a second behind her. "Dammit!" May laughed at her victory.

"Don't worry Roy, you can be the ring girl," Brawnz said. The three of them laugh and Jaune and Nolan looked at them, then at each other, and just laughed with them.

"Seriously though, what should we do next?" Jaune asked. Everyone took a minute to think. The silence in the air went on for a while as they tried to think of something that not only Jaune would like, but also something they found fun. That was Roy came up with an idea.

"Let's take him Grimm shooting!" Roy said.

"Hey that's sounds like a great plan!" May agreed.

"Yeah let's do it," Nolan said.

"All right," Brawnz said. "Let's start heading to the wall." The wall, Jaune assumed, was the giant wall that surrounded the city to keep the grimm at bay. Still though, he had to ask.

"We're going to train?" Jaune asked. He wasn't against it, but still training as a day out seemed a little ironic in his eyes.

"Kind of, just follow us!" Brawnz said. All of them leave the Arcade and head to their next destination.

 **Fifteen minutes Later:**

When they first got to the wall, Jaune was impressed. When he first originally got there it was by bullhead and saw the walls from the sky. The second time he got here he was passed out. Now that he actually got to see them first hand and on the ground, he was in shock. The walls had to be as big as a mountain! Then again, with behemoth like grimm like goliaths and geists that can take over giant rocks, they had to be tall to defend against them.

Jaune could only stare in awe at the tall walls. Despite seeing them from Shade, they seemed kind of small since the school itself was big. Still, the walls were impressive. He is shaken from his awe by May nudging him in the ribs.

"Keep your mouth open like that a geist will possess ya," She said. Jaune closed his mouth and gave a sheepish smile and scratched the back of his head. The funny thing is, he swore he heard that phrase somewhere before, probably from one of his older sisters or parents.

"Come on, let's get to the top!" Nolan said. Everyone agreed and began walking around to find stairs or hopefully, an elevator. As they walked Jaune took a closer look at the wall to notice that the material was made of stone. As he walked he placed his hand on the wall and let it drag across the stone.

"So is anyone going to tell me what grimm shooting is?" As he said that he heard the sound of a couple of gunshots overhead. Brawnz points up toward the top of the wall.

"That's grimm shooting," He said. "You see grimm like to sometime come a little too close to the wall so we often have guards or huntsmen at the top shooting any that get too close."

"Or sometime they shoot for shits and giggle," May said. "Which is what we're going to do." They reached an elevator and Jaune silently thanked the gods that he didn't have to climb a ladder or stairs. Brawnz presses the button and they wait for it to come down.

"Are we even allowed to do this?" Jaune questioned.

"Only Huntsmen and students of the academy are allowed to shoot," Roy states. "It doesn't stop everyone though as they sometime bribe the huntsmen up there."

The elevator door reached them and opens up. Jaune hummed at Roy's response. "Why do I get the feeling they shot something more than grimm?" He asked.

All of them walk in as Roy answered his question. "To be fair it was the huntsmen fault since he was the one who gave them the gun in the first place." May was the last to enter and she presses the button to send them up. "The good thing was they stopped the ones who did cause trouble before they hurt too many people."

"Oh yeah um… I am going to say this before we get there," Jaune said. Everyone looked at him and he gulped out of nervousness. "I've… never shot a sniper before." There is a beat and then a sigh from May.

"Guess I'm teaching you then," She said. Her tone had that of slight annoyance but Jaune also heard a somewhat friendly undertone as well. Jaune gave a sheepish smile and scratched the back of his head.

"So, even though Jaune's learning, are we placing bets today?" Roy asked everyone.

"I'd say let's just have a bet between the three of us," Nolan said motioning to all of the guys sans Jaune. "That way May can show Jaune the ropes."

"Nah I'm getting in on this," May said. She looked at Jaune and made a smug smile. "Tell you what, once I'm done showing greenie here the ropes, I bet he can bag five grimm before you three nuts."

"How much money we talking here?" Roy said with piqued interest. May put her finger to her chin and gave it a thought. They reached the top of the wall and exit the elevator and May snaps her fingers.

"If Jaune wins, you guys owe both of us thirty lien, so ten lien each from you three. If you win, we owe all of you ten dollars each."

"Sounds fine to me," Nolan said as he cracked his knuckles.

"Hey!" a voice yelled out. The students turn to see a man with a loose white shirt and black pants walking over. On his chest was what looked to be leather armor as well as a right shoulder leather plate. He had a dark scarf around his neck but it didn't cover is face like Mr. Jetts did.

"Why are you kids up here?" The man asked. His voice was clear but also had signs of gruffness in it.

"We're students from Shade," Brawnz said walking up to the man. "We were hoping to do some grimm shooting." He dug in his pocket and took out a wallet. He opened the wallet and showed it to the guy who nodded his head.

"All right, you guys got your guns?"

"No sir we actually left them," Roy said. "We were hoping you all had some spares." The man laughed.

"Of course we do. Question is do you have enough Lien to cover for all of you?" Brawnz dug around in his wallet and handed the man what looked to be quite a lot of lien. The man counted it and then counted everyone present. "All right looks like you all have enough to shoot for a while." He motioned his head toward the opposite direction. "Follow me I'll lead you to the stash." The man turns and the group follows along. As they did, May and Jaune fell behind to talk.

"Are you sure you want to risk losing your money?" Jaune asked the sniper. She quirked an eyebrow, titled her head, and placed a hand on her hip as a response. "All I'm saying, is I don't want to be the reason you have to give up thirty lien." May lets out a little chuckle.

"Then don't miss," May said as she put her hands behind her back.

"May seriously this is a bad idea, I've never shot a sniper before!"

May sighs. "You said that already. You make it sound like you haven't shot a gun at all!" Jaune is silent for a moment which causes May to turn towards him. "Is it?"

Jaune put his hands up in defense. "No no! I just…" he took a deep breath and calmed himself down. "I've never shot a rifle before okay? The only gun training I ever got was from my sister, and it was only with a pistol! Can't you just cancel the bet? I won't be able to hit anything."

May had heard enough of Jaunes complaining. She grabbed him by the shirt and dragged him down to her eye level. The glare she gave him was intense and had a fire behind them. "Listen to me Jaune Arc," She said. "You are a lot stronger than you like to think. You got accepted to two different Huntsmen academies. Stop doubting yourself." She said those last three words with heavy emphasis on them. "Got it?" Her voice was filled with determination. Jaune gulped and nodded his head.

"Got it." May smiles and let's go of him.

"Good, now let's win us some money." With that May walked up to the rest of the group, with Jaune close behind.

"So Jaune, you really think you can kill five grimm before the three of us?" Nolan asked. Jaune was going to say he doubted it but remembered what May told him not even thirty seconds ago.

"Well I may not know a lot about shooting," He started. "But I'm sure that May can teach me everything that needs to be taught."

"Well, how much do you know about shooting?" Roy asked. Jaune hummed at the question.

"I'd say the basics really. You know, don't point the gun at someone, always aim down range, always check the chamber and see if it's loaded, you know stuff like that."

"What about actual shooting?" May asked. "How much of that do you know?"

"My sister always told me to just aim in the general directions and pull the trigger."

"Oh, so point shooting basically."

"Yeah I think that's what she called it," Jaune recalled. "What's the difference here?"

"I'm teaching you sighted shooting. It's where you use the thing on your gun called a sight."

They finally reach the storage/armory of snipers. The huntsman pointed his thumb into the shack. "Here you all go," he said. "Have fun." Jaune thanked the man as they entered the armory. He saw a bunch of snipers on stands and saw that the four of them were already grabbing ammo and guns. Jaune took a deep breath and decided to look around for a gun.

"So Jaune," Roy started as he checked the sights of his gun. "You said your sister taught you how to shoot before?"

"Yeah, it was my oldest one Erica," Jaune answered. "Why?"

"What was she like?"

Jaune reminisced about everything Erica was a smiled. "She was a great sister. She knew when to scold you and when to praise you. She was the one who made me want to learn how to fight."

* * *

A five year old Jaune stares in awe as he watches his two oldest sisters spar with each other. Erica and Samantha Arc, who were thirteen and twelve respectively, were moving at a fast pace to keep the five year old's attention, while at the same time moving slow enough for him to keep up and see what was going on.

They were fighting with their wooden swords that their father had made. Each sword had a girl's name engraved on it. The differences were minor but still noticeable however. Erica was using a longsword, as the blade itself stood almost as tall as her, but short enough that she is able to swing with it one handed. Samantha, on the other hand, had a short sword as the blade part was only as long as her arm.

Each swing one of the girls took would collide with the other sisters causing a loud _klunk_ sound. Erica's blonde shoulder length hair would wave through the air every time she swung. Samantha's short dark blonde hair wouldn't move but Jaune could see drips of sweat from her. The strikes continue until the both hit each other's sword at the same time and push into it, causing a power struggle. Erica starts to scan around for something to help her and lays an eye on Samantha's leg. She grins and increase pressure, causing Samantha to increase her own. Once Samantha put more pressure, Erica swiftly moved out of the way causing Samantha to fall forward.

The second eldest sister's eyes widen as she felt her sister's foot catch her leg forcing her to fall flat on the floor. Erica lets out a big cheer, and Jaune claps for her too.

"Looks like I win again, eh Sammy?" Erica said as she offered her a hand. Sam sighs and takes her sisters hand. Erica helps up Sam and Sam points at Erica.

"I'll beat you someday sis, just you wait!" Samantha said with a determined voice.

"Erica!" a young high pitched and childish voice said from the sidelines. The two sisters turn and see their only brother run up to them, a big smile on his face. Seeing that big goofy innocent smile would always make them feel happy. Erica turns to Jaune and he goes up and hugs her legs. "That was so cool! You were all like―" Jaune made a whooshing sound and mimicked swinging a sword in his hand. "And then Sammy was like 'no not the face!'"

"Hey I wasn't like that!" Sam retorted. Erica laughed.

"I don't know Sam, you did look pretty scared," Erica said as she crossed her arms. Samantha rolls her eyes and goes to put her sword away. As she does Jaune tugs at Erica's pant leg.

"Erica," he said. "Can you teach me how to fight?"

"Of course I can little brother!" Erica said with excitement in her eyes. Samantha had placed her sword back on the rack and walked back up to the two.

"I don't think it's a good idea," Samantha said. Jaune whined and turned to his second eldest sister.

"Why not?!" he complained.

"Jaune I just don't want you to get hurt."

Erica rolls her eyes. "Sheesh," She said. "It's not like I'm going to make him do our training Sammy. It'll be the simple stuff." The two sisters glared at each other. Sammy knew that Erica's been wanting to teach one of the younger siblings to fight as she herself loved fighting. Jaune was the first of them to ask Erica for help.

"Fine," Samantha glares harder at Erica. "If Jaune gets hurt though, I'm telling dad." Erica put her hands up and gave a nervous smile. Samantha relaxes, knowing her message was clear. She looks down at Jaune with a smile and rubs his messy blond hair.

"Be safe okay?" She said.

"I will!" Jaune said. With that Sam leaves them to their first training session. Erica kneels to be a little more eye level with Jaune. Jaune does the same a smile on his face.

"So my adorable little brother," Erica said pinching his cheek. Jaune blush and pushes the hand away playfully. "Why do you want to learn how to fight?" Jaune didn't hesitate to answer. He raised his fist in the air proudly.

"Because I want to be tough and strong like my big sisters!" Erica laughed.

"That's what I like to hear!" she grips his shoulders and turns her fun tone into a slightly more serious tone. "But _why_ do you want to be strong?"

Jaune wasn't expecting this question and was silent for a moment trying to rack his brain for the answers. "I guess, because I want to be like the heroes in the stories mom reads us." Erica tilts her head a little bit in confusion. "All of the heroes in those stories are so strong and powerful and I want to be like them some day."

"Again, why?" Jaune tilts head this time in confusion this time.

"Because I like helping people I guess?" Jaune eyes widen. "Why i-is it that a bad thing?" Erica laughed at her brother's answer as she pulled him in a hug.

"Of course not!" She said. "I just want to know that you won't do the stuff I teach you to pick on anyone else."

"I won't." Jaune extended his pinky to his sister. "I pinky promise." Erica smiles and hooks her pinky around Jaune's.

"All right then, let's start with stances."

* * *

"Ever since then Erica would occasionally teach me how to fight when she wasn't busy," Jaune said to the team. "I learned how to hold a sword and shield and learned a couple of different fighting techniques from her like shooting and a little bit of hand to hand." Jaune sighed. "Shame I couldn't remember everything she taught me when I was at Beacon."

Everyone could tell Jaune was torn about that. Nolan set his gun to the side and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Look man, so you forgot a few things," he started. "Even so, what you learned from her and from anyone else will eventually stick right?"

Jaune smiled. "I guess so. Thanks." He smiled at Nolan who gave a smile and nod back.

While what Jaune said was part of the reason he was feeling down, it was also what happened when he returned home after the big reveal. His eldest sister, the one who made him want to become a huntsman, the one who taught him how to fight, called him an embaressment to the family and then acted like he didn't exist. The fact that his own blood would say that to him made Jaune angry, sad, and just all around upset.

"All right, you pick out a gun yet Jaune?" Brawnz said trying to change the topic since it was obviously a touchy subject. Jaune took one last look at his choice. It wasn't as long as the others and it wasn't as heavy. For some reason though, it seemed to be the right choice for Jaune, at least in his mind. He picks it up and nods his head. "All right, let's hit the range!" Brawnz nearly shouted.

Roy Nolan and May raised their fists in the air. "Yeah!" they yelled in unison. They kept their hands raised in the air and looked toward Jaune. At first he was confused at what they were doing. It was when Nolan looked up at his hand with his eyes that Jaune got the message. He removed his hand from underneath the fore stock of the rifle and looked at it. He let out a tiny chuckle, made it into a fist, and raised it into the air with them. The party let out a couple of hoots and hollers and left the shack, each of them grabbing a box of ammo while they did.

 **Fifty minutes later.**

The sound of gunfire was constant as the party was there. While Jaune was learning from May, the other three hunted the grimm. Apparently the arrival of Jaune had caused a lot of negative emotion around the city, according to one huntsman. He sounded as if he enjoyed it thought as, in his words, "It was starting to get boring as no grimm would come around."

Meanwhile while they hunted, May was going through everything she could with Jaune. From steady breathing and trigger control, to even wind resistance and a little snippet of the Coriolis Effect. While Jaune was a little nervous, he was picking up this stuff pretty easily. He wasn't hitting all of his targets, true, but he was still hitting some of them, almost half of which were bullseyes.

A timer goes off and Brawnz puts the safety on his gun and takes out his scroll. He turns off the alarm and grabs his team's attention. After everyone finished their magazine, they turned to Brawnz. "All right guys we got a few minutes left," he stated. "Want to get started on the bet?" Jaune shifted a little bit. He still wasn't sure about it. May elbowed him in the ribs. He looked over to her and she had a relaxed look on her face.

"You don't have to dude," She said. She gave a small smile that Jaune swore he saw before for some reason. It was filled with non-judgmental warmth. Jaune smiled back. He didn't go through all of this to back down now. He gave a confident grin to the males of team BRNZ.

"Let's do it," He said to them. There was something in his voice that made the team smile. Whether it was his confidence or because he was willing to do the bet, he didn't know. Right now all that mattered was getting five grimm.

"Okay so to reiterate," May said. "The first person to get five grimm wins. Jaune's alone, while the three of you are on a team. We lose, we owe you all of you twenty lien, we win you owes us thirty lien. Ready?" Everyone one of the guys loaded their weapons with confidence. May took that as a yes. "All right, begin!"

Jaune closed his eyes for a second and took a deep breath. He calmed himself down and when he was finally ready he opened his eye that was looking through the scope. He used the scope to scout for any signs of white in the darkness. Since it was getting closer to night, grimm were becoming harder to see. The only things that would be noticeable is if one of the spotlights that accompanied the wall got one in its sight, or if there was weird red or white markings in the dark.

Jaune heard one of them fire their rifle followed by a cheer. He is one behind. He saw a blur of white when he was scanning closer to the wall. He found a beowolf trying to attack the wall alone. Whether the pack was behind or if it was the last of its pack alive Jaune didn't know nor did he care. When he made sure that he could take the shot, he pulled the trigger. The beowolf collapsed not even a second after Jaune fired. The body began to dissipate and Jaune let out a grin.

For the next few minutes the four guys continued firing and killing any grimm they could find. Halfway through the time Brawnz and Nolan got into an argument about who killed a grimm causing them to stop shooting to argue, leaving only Jaune and Roy.

Both were head to head in their kills, needing only one left. They were searching frantically for their final grimm. Jaune finally laid his eyes on one and took aim, He fired and the beowolf collapsed. Jaune made absolutely sure that the creature was dead. As the body began to dissipate Jaune let out a cheer. "That's five!" He exclaimed.

Brawnz and Nolan stopped struggling with each other and looked at Jaune. When Jaune and May looked at the two they started laughing. Brawnz had his thumb pushing up on Nolan's nose causing him to look like he had a pig nose, and Nolan had his hand gripping Brawnz's face making his lower eyelid droop and part his mouth droop as well.

Roy however wasn't happy as he didn't laugh at their antics. He went up to them and knocked their heads together like they were a slapstick trio. "You idiots!" he yelled. "If you two didn't begin fighting we wouldn't have lost!"

As the three of them began to argue with each other Jaune and May just sat back and enjoyed the show. As they did May elbowed Jaune in his arm. "Nice shooting blondie," She said. "Not gonna lie I was expecting you to lose."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Jaune joked. May giggled at his comment. "Seriously though, thanks for everything May."

"No problem." She raised her fist and Jaune recoiled a little, expecting her to playfully hit him. Instead she held it there as if waiting for something. Jaune realized what it was and smiled. He fist bumped her and smiled. The two watched as Roy, Nolan, and Brawnz continued to fight and argue. Eventually it got to the points where they were starting to punch and kick each other. "Okay as much as I want to see those three kill each other, we should stop them."

"All right," Jaune said getting up from sitting on the wall.

"What are you going to do?" Jaune cracked his knuckles.

"I'm going to do what used to stop my sisters from fighting." May looked on with curiosity as Jaune walked up to her three teammates. Nolan and Roy were on the ground wrestling with each other as Brawnz was on top of both of them trying to get as many punches in as he can. One moment he was fighting his team, the next moment he felt a sharp pain on his right ear and was being dragged away from the fight. "Ow ow ow ow ow!" he yelped in pain. As Jaune dragged him over to May he handed Brawnz off to her.

"Here you go," He said nonchalantly. "Pinch the lobe and twist it nice and tight to make sure he doesn't go anywhere." May nodded and then did as she was told onto Brawnz causing him to yelp pain again.

Jaune goes over to Nolan and Roy and does the same thing he did to Brawnz. they both let out pined yelps and Jaune drags them over to Brawnz and May. "All right are you three done?" Jaune asked in a way that reminded all of them of a parent scolding their kids. The three of them nodded their heads. "Good, now when we let go you better not be at each other's throats. Promise?" Again the three of them nod their heads. Jaune and May lock eyes with each other and nod their heads. They let go of the boys and they all let out audible groans.

"I'm going to start using that more often," May teased her team. When Brawnz was done rubbing his ear he grabbed Jaune by his shoulders.

"Jaune what have you done?!" He panicked. "You have given her unlimited power!" May let out an evil laugh that scared everyone nearby.

"I thank you for the power Jaune!" May said. "I can now make them bend to my will!"

"Do so and I'll do it to you," Jaune retorted. This caused May to freeze in fear. She quickly apologized to her team causing all of them to laugh.

"All right I think we've been out long enough to go to the highlight of tonight," Brawnz said. Jaune could see everyone was getting excited for what Brawnz had planned next.

"Where are we going to next?" Jaune asked.

"We're getting you shitfaced!" Nolan screamed as he pumped his fists in the air. The others joine din his cheer and Jaune gave a weak smile. He wasn't much of a drinker, but he figured that having one drink couldn't hurt, right?

 **Ten minutes later:**

They were walking around Shade again to a bar that Brawnz said his team usually goes to. As they did Jaune had a question for all the guys on the team. "So if you guys are decent shots," he started. "Why don't you implement guns into your weapons?"

"First question I asked when I was paired up with these knuckle heads," May said with her hands behind her head. "Not only am I the only girl, I'm the only ranged person."

"Hey my grapples shoot!" Brawnz argued.

"Dude it's a knife on chains, you're literally just Scorpion from _Mortal Kombat_."

"So? At least I'm awesome!"

"I think she means discount Scorpion," Nolan joked. Brawnz glared at Nolan who shrugs.

Brawnz turns to Jaune. "All jokes aside, I have a personal history with guns and…" An image from that day flashes in Brawnz's mind. "Let's just say they haven't done me any favors in my early life."

Jaune can tell Brawnz had some bad memories and decided to not push any further. He turned to Nolan. "What about you Nolan?" he asked the red haired teen.

Nolan looked down at his hands. "I don't know," He said. "I just don't feel right using a gun you know?" Jaune could respect that. That left one remaining person. Everyone turned to Roy who had his hands in his pockets.

"I like to make sure my opponents stay down," Roy stated. "Personally I don't feel safe with a gun in my hands. I can miss, it can jam, I can lose ammo, stuff like that. With my saws however, I can tell someone's down since I'm close and I can assess the situation." Jaune could see where Roy was coming from. With his questions answered, they continued down Shade with idle chatter. After a few more minutes of walking, talking and laughing, the crew finally made it to the bar. Jaune took a good look at it.

It was only a one floor building but it was long enough to accompany a lot of people. It had medium sized windows that had the blinds up across the entire length of the building. The bottom layer of the house seemed to be made of black stone but once it reached the windows it changed into a wood that made the place very inviting. He could see a couple of beer brands he knew from advertising across the window, some in neon while others in the form of poster. He took a look at the name of the bar. " _The Desert Oasis"_ was spelled out in letters on the roof, with dim lights still on to signify they are still open. It was also on windows.

They walk up to the bar and they stop right at the entrance. BRNZ looks at Jaune who takes a deep breath. "You ready Jaune?" Brawnz asked. Jaune nodded. He took a deep breath, and they walked into the bar.

 **To be continued**

 **A/N Hope you all enjoyed the long chapter! I Would have cut it off sooner but it didn't seem right so I kept typing and it ended up being double my usual lengths! Now does this mean I will be making my chapters this long all the time? Who knows? It depends how often I feel unsatisfied with a chapter's length. Anyway I hope you guys enjoyed and stay tuned for the next chapter.**

 **Beta Reader: TheShadowOfZama**


	22. Arc 2 Chapter 9

When they entered the bar, Jaune took a look at the clientele. There were a few who seemed shady but there were also a few who seemed like they were in a somewhat respectable position. Jaune even saw people who looked like they went to Shade there! From leather jackets and tank tops to white button ups and Jaune even saw a guy with a suit drinking with someone. All in all, the bar was lively.

Team BRNZ walked into the store and walked to the where the bar was. They sat down at the stools at the bar and Jaune followed suit. One of the bartenders, a cute tanned skin, short brown haired Faunus girl with a monkey tail wrapped around her waist, saw them. She flashed them a smile to signal that she noticed them and would help them when she was done with her current customer.

As they waited, Jaune decided to ask something. "So I'm assuming you all have been here before?" Team BRNZ all gave various forms of yes. "How long have you guys been going here?"

"We came here after the second week of school of our first year," Brawnz said. "One of our upperclassmen recommended this place to us when we were looking for some place to hang out."

"That girl was a genius to recommend this place!" Roy said. "It's nice, the servers are friendly, and the owner is pretty chill with us drinking here."

"Yeah as long we don't get as drunk as we did the first night we came in here," May added. The team laughed at the memory.

"So what happened?" Jaune asked curiously.

"Well I got into a fight," Nolan said. He points his thumb at Brawnz. "He passed out in the toilet." He points at Roy. "He started singing random songs that popped in his head." He then points at May. "And she dressed up as a belly dancer." May let out a blush and covered her face with her arms.

"I'm just glad no one took pictures," She mumbled.

"I did!" Roy said as he waved his scroll, a smug smile on his face. May jumps up and looks at Roy. "Jaune you want to see?"

"Don't you dare!" Brawnz held May back by putting her in a full nelson.

"Show him show him!" Brawnz edged on. As Roy began flipping through his pictures, Jaune put up his hands.

"N-no that's fine I don't need to see it," he said nervously.

"Too late," Roy said. He turned his scroll round to show Jaune the picture. May was wearing a blue belly dancer's uniform they somehow found. She was wearing a blue top, causing her midriff to show, and part of the lower dress was slit to reveal her leg. Jaune saw the look on May's face and saw that it was slightly flushed, either from embarrassment or from being drunk, he couldn't tell.

He looked over at May who had eyes that dared him to say something stupid. Jaune panicked and said the first thing that came to his head. "Y-you look cute!"

There is a silence. Everyone looked at May who had an unreadable look on her face. " _Crap! Why did I say that!? Oh man she's going to beat the crap out of me!"_ Jaune thought in his head. He closed his eyes in anticipation of the beating he was about to receive. May got out of Brawnz hold and turned back to the bar.

"Whatever…" She mumbled. Jaune opened his eyes slowly when he heard her say that and wasn't in any pain. He looked at May who was avoiding eye contact with him for the time being, a small blush on her face. This cause the males of BRNZ to let out a small chuckle at the fact that Jaune made May blush. Something like that doesn't happen often. They would've teased her more about it, but they knew that was basically poking an ursa.

The bartender walked up to them and handed all of them menus. "How are all of you doing?" She asked. They responded by saying they were all good. "So do you all know what you'll be having?"

"Actually, I'm new here," Jaune said. "Anything you can recommend?"

"Well our spiced rum and coke is pretty good for newcomers. Will you have that?" Jaune looked at his friends and they all gave supportive nods. Jaune nodded his head and she wrote it down on her bad. As she went around she got everyone's order. Brawnz and May got some kind of beer, Roy got a mixed drink, and Nolan asked for pure whiskey. Jaune didn't think he could handle the kick of Nolan's drink since he tried some from going out with Yang once. Jaune practically spat the drink out.

"Hey, you guys hungry?" Brawnz asked his team. Again, everyone gave various forms of yes. "We'll also take a large thing of nachos." With everything written down, the bartender walked away to get their drinks. In the meantime, Jaune and team BRNZ continued to talk about whatever came to their minds.

"You excited to be back in a huntsman academy Jaune?" Brawnz asked. Jaune let out a nervous chuckle.

"I am," he said. "I'm just not looking forward to the homework again."

"Meh the homework's not that hard," Roy stated.

"Says the guy who aces every test," Nolan joked.

"Maybe if you study instead of playing games with May, you two would actually be good at your tests." That comment got a couple of oo's from Jaune and Brawnz. May shrugged.

"I ain't going to deny that," She said. "Beside I have better things to do than waste time with homework."

"Thank you!" Nolan exclaimed. "She gets it. Why can't the rest of you?"

"Probably because she actually pays attention in class," Brawnz said. "Unlike you, who sleep through almost all of them."

"Screw you guys!" Nolan turned to Jaune. "Jaune you can agree with me right? Do I really need to do homework?"

"Depends," Jaune said. "Are you still getting A's and B's?"

"Uhh… yes?" Jaune gave Nolan a dead stare. "No…" Nolan hung his head in shame.

"Then yes you do. You see my parents made it so as long as you're getting A's and B's, homework was optional. If you get below that they aren't optional."

"Well just because you said it doesn't mean I'm going to do it." Nolan crossed his arms and flashed Jaune a smug smile. Jaune gave a small smile back and pinched his earlobe. Nolan's eyes shrunk in fear, knowing exactly what that meant. He covers his ears and shivers slightly. "Please no." Team BRNZ and Jaune let out a laugh. The laugh was loud enough to get a few of the other patrons to cast a glance at them, but not loud enough for people to complain.

The bartender waitress came back and gave everyone their drinks. She flashed everyone a smile. "Your food will be out in a bit," She said. The poarty thanked her and Brawnz raised his mug up to which everyone did the same with their glass and/or mug.

"To Jaune passing initiation!" Brawnz cheered. Everyone clunked their glass together and took a swig from their drink. Jaune could taste the sweetness and fizziness of the coke mix with the fruity yet somewhat tingly sensation of the rum in his throat. He puts the drink down and he had to admit, it wasn't bad.

"So what do you think?" Roy asked as he took a sip. Jaune gave a smile.

"It's not that bad actually," He said. "I wouldn't mind coming back here."

"We could always use another drinking buddy!" Brawnz exclaimed. "Anytime you want to hang out just let us know man."

"I will."

A few more minutes of talking and having fun with BRNZ passed and they finally got their food. As they dug in and ate their food, Jaune also had to admit that it was pretty good food. Time flew by and Jaune was having a lot of fun. He was smiling almost every second, and he was laughing and joking with the other team. Just like brothers and sisters in arms. Unfortunately, someone was about to cause a commotion.

Jaune noticed that a man with ripped jeans and a stained white t-shirt began yelling at one of the bartenders. It wasn't the one that served them, this one had long bunny ears. They reminded Jaune of Velvet's ears only these ones were snow white. The stains on the man's t-shirt were obviously from all of the beer he was drinking and adding on the fact that he is slurring his words, it is obviously that this guy is drunk.

"You listen to me you faunus bitch!" he yelled. Apparently he was a mean drunk. "When I ask for another drink you give me one!"

The waitress forces the guy to lose his grip by hitting his wrists. He lets out a groan and the waitress points at him. "You're drunk," she stated. "So like it or not you're getting cut off, end of story!" She was about to walk away but the drunk had other plans. He reached up and grabbed one of her ears and pulled down on them hard.

"You don't get to walk away from me you animal!"

Jaune's instincts kicked in and he got up from his seat and ran toward the man. He didn't realize he was doing it until he reached the man and grabbed the wrist of the hand that was grabbing the girl's ears. He brought up his elbow and smashed on the man's forearm, causing him to yell in pain and let of the faunus's ear. Jaune, then grabbed the man's arm, twisted it around to his back and then slammed his head down onto the counter with his own forearm.

Jaune added pressure on the guy's head causing him to groan in pain. Jaune knew that this wasn't going to end well. That came to full force when the drunk broke free from Jaune's grip and headbutted Jaune by yanking his head back against Jaune's face.

Jaune grabs his nose and backs away from the drunk. He gets up and faces the blonde and Jaune looked at his brown eyes. They were full of pure rage. "Don't stick your nose where it doesn't belong, Boyo!" The drunk threatened as he pointed at Jaune. "I'll show you what happens when you do."

Jaune looked over to BRNZ for support but they didn't get up from their seats to help him. May had a cocked eyebrow that basically said "What do you want me to do?" Nolan looked on with an amused look as he took a sip from his drink. Roy had a quizzical look on him. Brawnz had his hand cupped around his mouth and yelled at Jaune.

"KICK HIS ASS JAUNE!" he yelled.

" _Not helping Brawnz!"_ Jaune thought. He was shaken from his thoughts when he felt a shoe connect to his face causing him to stumble back. The crowd that started to form caught Jaune and pushed him back into the makeshift ring of people.

"Keep your eyes on the fight Boyo," the drunk taunted with a toothy grin. "I don't want this to be too easy." Jaune growled and raised his fists. He knew there was no point in trying to talk him out of the fight. He learned that the hard way back at Hei's bar.

The drunk charged at Jaune. Despite the speed and aggressiveness Jaune could tell he was still stumbling a bit. Jaune sidestepped out of the way and hooked his left foot around the drunk's left leg and sweeped it upward. The drunk tried to regain his balance by placing his hands on the ground, but the minute he did Jaune turned and punched him in the cheek, causing the drunk to fall down.

The drunk got up and looked at the nearest table that had a bottle. He grabbed it and chucked at Jaune. Jaune flinched the bottle collided with him on his body. While it did sting, thankfully it didn't break and cause shards to cut into his skin.

Jaune recovered from the flinch but that time was all the drunk need. He wrapped his arms around Jaune and began drive him into the wall. Jaune tried to elbow down on the man's back but no avail. Jaune let out a loud pained grunt as he felt his back hit the wall of the bar. While his aura did often help null the pain, that didn't mean it wasn't noticeable.

The drunk backed up and then grabbed Jaune's head. He brought Jaune's head down onto his knee, causing a large pain in Jaune's face. Jaune heard slight ringing but he could hear the cheer of the crowd. The drunk backed up again and Jaune recovered faster this time. He saw the man grabbed a stool and swung it over head to try and hit Jaune. Jaune ducked in time for the stool to hit the wall instead. He slipped away from the wall and went behind the drunk.

He kicked the man into the wall causing him to also hit the stool as he was still holding it. The man drops the stool and grabs his face. As he did Jaune kicked him in the back again, causing the drunk to run into the wall.

With the tables turned, Jaune grabbed the man by his shirt. He punched him two times with his right fist, and then grabbed the man's face and slammed it into the wall for the third time. The drunk let out a roar and kneed Jaune in the side. As Jaune clutched his side, the man followed up with a kick to the face, causing Jaune to stumble back.

With neither of them backed into the wall the fight was on even grounds again. What Jaune gathered from the fight so far, the drunk liked to use kicks while fighting, but didn't limit himself to them. Still, he tries to remember any tips he picked up from sparring with one of the twins, who excelled in kicks. Since the drunk fought like her, he tried to recall any counter techniques she taught Jaune.

The drunk tried to sweep Jaune but Jaune jumped just in time to dodge the attack. Training with Melanie helped Jaune able to counter some of these moves. Jaune landed and punched the drunk in the face. He then grabbed his arm and clotheslined him. The drunk stumbles up and kicks Jaune in the ribs. Jaune took the hit but grabbed his leg to stop it from happening again. The drunk then lifted his other leg to kick Jaune in the face.

This move succeeded and Jaune stumbled backward, letting go of the leg in the process. The drunk gets up and tries to tackle Jaune onto the ground. He fails as Jaune sprawled and pushed him away causing him to go flying into a stool. The crowd helped him back up and he growled at Jaune.

He does a high front kick which hits Jaune in the jaw causing the blonde to groan. Jaune tried to punch the drunk but he blocked Jaune's attack and elbowed him in the stomach. He was quick to combo it with a strong kick to Jaune's legs, causing him to fall face first into the ground. Jaune's vision blurred as he rolled over. He saw what looked to be a leg coming over his face causing Jaune to panic and roll over to avoid getting axe kicked.

The drunk's heel smashes into the floor. As he struggles to get it out Jaune was able to get up. He charged at the drunk and tackled him into the ground. He quickly gets up and then smashes down on his head with a heavy hammerfist.

The drunk recovers and gets up. He punches Jaune in the stomach and then elbows him in the face. Jaune stumbles back but stays standing. The drunk tries to hit Jaune in the torso with a front kick. However Jaune caught it and then smashes down on the knee. Not hard enough to break it, but enough to make it hurt. the drunk gripped his leg and let out a low growl.

The drunk tried to kick Jaune in the face with a turning kick this time. A simple move that Jaune knew he could counter. Jaune blocked and then grabbed the drunk's leg, he then snaked his own leg through and sweeped the drunk's other leg, causing him to fall to his back. When the drunk hit the ground with a thud, and then Jaune let go of the leg and pulled back his right arm and punched down on the drunk.

The crowd let out loud oo's as Jaune got back up. The drunk groaned and grab his face as Jaune backed up. When the drunk stayed on the ground Jaune let out a loud sigh. The crowd looked on to see if the man was down for good. He gets up but needs help from a table. Jaune lets out an exhausted groan. Both of them are tired and weak. Jaune couldn't take much more of this.

The drunk let a low grown and dug into his pant pocket to bring out a switchblade. The crowd that was edging them on suddenly grew quiet. Jaune looked around to see that the patrons weren't filled with the joy of seeing a fight but instead filled with… anger? Everyone was looking at the drunk with angry looks for some reason instead of fear.

"Let's see you dodge this!" the drunk slurred. The man charged at Jaune but Jaune was prepared. He took a stance but stayed light on his toes to make sure he could dodge the blade. He wouldn't need to however.

A man from the crowd stepped into the make shift arena and grabbed the man's wrist and applied pressure to it causing the drunk let out a pained yelp. "Now now," a voice that sounded like it had some age in it said. It also had a slight eastern Valian accent to it. **(A/N British accent)** "I enjoy a good brawl in my bar every now and then, but to pull a knife in the middle of one?" the man who stepped in put pressure on the drunk's shoulder and hand, causing him to drop the knife. "For shame my friend." The man pins the drunk's arm behind his back and pushes him away. Jaune and the drunk, as well as everyone else at the bar looked at the man now.

He was an aged man with pale skin, short slightly grayed disheveled hair, and a full grey beard around his face. Despite his age, the man seemed to be in good shape as he still had some muscle on him. He had a bit of a beer belly but all in all looked pretty good.

He was wearing a tan buttoned up shirt with a pocket on the right side of his chest. on his arms were various tattoos that looked to almost be tribal. He was wearing black jeans with a brown belt looped around them. He wore brown steel toed boots as well. Hanging around his waist was two holsters on both side, both of which were carrying revolvers.

The drunk smiled confidently. "Mason," the drunk said. "I just want to make it clear that I did not start the fight." The aged man named Mason looked on with piqued curiosity. "That boy over there slammed my head into your wonderful bar for no reason. Perhaps too dumb to realize effects of alcohol." The drunk slurred those last words which made Mason smile.

"Is that so?" Mason looked and strolled over to Jaune. Jaune tensed up as the man came closer to him. It didn't help the fact that they were practically the same height. "What's your name?"

"Jaune," The blonde said. Mason was silent for a second expecting Jaune to continue. When he didn't, Mason growled.

"Full name son."

Jaune gulped. "J-Jaune Arc…" a few whispers were heard around the bar.

"The fraud?!" the drunk yelled. He pointed at Jaune. "That just proves how this is his fault!"

"Really?" Mason said as he took a step to the drunk. His tone was filled with one that didn't want to deal with any lies. "Just because he was the fraud of Beacon, makes this his fault how?"

The drunk opened his mouth but he closed it when he couldn't think of a response. "Okay even so, it's still his fault for starting it!"

"It's his fault for stopping you from hurting one of my employees?" The drunk's eyes shrunk in fear when he heard those words. "I may have not seen it myself as I was in my office, but I trust what my own workers say," he pointed his thumb to the bartenders. "More than I trust what you say." Mason goes over to the drunk and places both of his hands on the drunk's shoulders. "I'll deal with Jaune later, right now I'm going to deal with you."

"W-what are you going to do to me?" Mason let out a low vicious chuckle.

"Why I'm just going to politely, and calmly, ask you to-"

* * *

The sound of a door being slammed open can be heard from the street as Mason tossed the drunk into the street. "GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY BAR!" the drunk groaned as he looked back up.

"You can't kick me out!" the drunk yelled. "I've given you great business!"

Mason leaned on the doorway and lets out an annoyed groan and said "Just because you've been drinking here until you pass out every night for a week doesn't mean you've been given me 'great business.' I can always find some drunk who'll gladly throw his money at my bar. Maybe this time he won't be a pissant like you."

With that Mason slams the door shut and turns back into his bar. He sees everyone was staring at him, so he clears his throat. "Well then after that… incident I think everyone could use a free drink huh?" a couple of people cheered in agreement. "All right, next round's for free ya mooches!" He had a joking tone as he said that causing some of the patrons to laugh. As everything slowly gets back to normal, Jaune walks to team BRNZ.

"Can you go anywhere without getting in a fight?" Brawnz asked jokingly. He handed Jaune his drink and Jaune took a sip of it.

"It's one of my super powers," Jaune joked. "Alongside it is incredible awkwardness and always being in the wrong place at the wrong time." Team BRNZ laughs alongside Jaune. "Seriously though, why didn't you guys help me?"

"You got yourself into that mess," Nolan said as he took a sip from his whisky. "You threw yourself in the hole, you gotta climb out of it on your own."

"The boy's right Jaune," the voice of Mason said. Everyone turns to see him walking over to them. The elder sits down next to them and puts a hand on Jaune's shoulder. His grip was still strong despite his age. "In Vacuo we don't help the stupid. And you my friend are probably the pinnacle of stupid with everything's that happened to you." Jaune grumbled as he emptied his drink down his throat. Mason sees this but lets out a chuckle. "You may be stupid but you have a good heart. Not that many people around Vacuo like that. Most are just stupid. Trust me kid, Vacuo could use more good hearted people like you and the team here." Jaune smiled at the compliment.

"Thanks uh… Mason was it?" Jaune asked. He nodded.

"Yep. Mason Ruo, at your service." He stuck out his hand and Jaune shakes it. Team BRNZ decided to let them converse alone and went around the bar talking to other patrons or just hanging around. "So tell me, why'd you go and fight the guy?" Jaune looked into his now empty glass.

"It was instinct. One minute I was seeing him pull your waitress's ear, the next minute I'm pinning him against the bar." Mason let's out a low hum as he looked at Jaune. The staring made Jaune a little nervous. Then Mason pointed at Jaune.

"You used to work at a bar didn't you?" Jaune nodded his head. Mason lets out a chuckle. "That explains it. Most people who worked at bars tend to be protective of anyone working at one. Still though, I don't think my worker appreciated you helping her that much."

"Why didn't she?" Jaune asked. Mason scratched his beard.

"She's a new recruit. She wants to prove to us that she can handle being spat on, cursed out, you know the usual shite." Jaune nodded in understanding, knowing how many arrogant customers would argue with him or other workers. "In a way she kind of reminds me of you. Wanting to impress the people around her so she can feel accepted." Jaune let out a little laugh.

"Yeah sounds like me."

"Ain't nothing wrong with that," Mason reassured Jaune. "After all there is an unspoken rule about Vacuo. If you can survive here…"

"Then you're welcomed here." Mason smiled at Jaune.

"Good lad. Well I won't take up anymore of your time." Mason gets up and stretches. He looked like he was about to walk away but remembered something. "Oh yeah one more thing: I'd just get soda from now on." Jaune tensed up, wondering if he'd been caught. Mason notices this and puts his hands up. "Easy kid, I don't care if you're underage. I'm only saying this for your friends' benefit." Mason pointed his thumb to one of the members of team BRNZ. Nolan was apparently trying to flirt with a young woman. The slap to the face he got was a sign that he failed, miserably. "They often try to keep one of them sober but they all eventually end up drunk. You seem far more responsible than them so all I'm asking is that you stay sober enough to try and get them back to Shade safe." Mason then shrugs. "Or you can get smashed. Up to you." With that Mason leaves Jaune alone.

Jaune looked into his empty glass that still had some ice left. He looks around the bar to see the various members of BRNZ all doing something to keep them occupied. Jaune felt a smile creep up on his lips. They made this a pretty fun night out he wasn't going to lie. Still though, the main reason they took Jaune out was for him to have a drink with them. While he did do that, it still would feel bad if he didn't have another drink. At the same time, he felt that Mason was right since he figured the team to take partying a little too hard.

Another bartender came up to him and put her hand on his glass. "Can I get you refill?" Jaune took another moment to think. As he did he went through every pro and con in his head about both answers. Finally he looked up at the bartender and answered.

 **To be continued.**

 **Beta Reader: TheShadowofZama**


	23. Arc 2 chapter 10

Jaune was having fun. A drink in his hand, team BRNZ around having fun, and people actually congratulating him on fighting the drunk. He was happy and enjoying himself. Of course, fate wasn't on his side. In the middle of the party, Jaune heard a scream come from behind. He turns around to see the room had gone totally dark except for one place that seemed to hold a spotlight. In the spotlight was one person lying on the ground. Jaune runs over to them to see what's wrong. He turns her body over to get a better look at it. His heart stopped when he realized who it was.

It was a female who had a face that looked like it had been used as a punching bag. She was wearing bandit clothes. Jaune barely hear a whisper as he stared in horror at the mangled face. "Why…" was what the wind said. Jaune dropped the body and crawled away. However his back hit another body.

He turned around to see another bandit girl that was lying in a pool of blood. The source came from her face as it looked as if the blood was overflowing from her mouth. Jaune's eyes shrunk in fear as she made horrible choking noises. With every cough a little bit of blood splattered out of her mouth. Parts of the blood came onto his face, almost causing Jaune to throw up. Jaune could feel the slight taste of copper in his mouth, he felt a little bit of spit come out and tried to wipe it off. What he saw on his sleeve wasn't saliva, it was fresh blood. Jaune tried to look away but when he did the only thing he saw was the tongue he had bitten off, wriggling around on the floor. It was pale but still had traces of blood coming out of it.

Jaune was able to pull himself away but as he turned around, the only thing he saw was a giant fire. A giant fire, and people burning. Some were on the ground, rolling around trying to get the flames off of them. Some of them were running, hoping the air would extinguish them. No matter what, there were corpses and bodies, and Jaune could hear the cries and screams, and he could smell the charred flesh that had taken over their bodies. Jaune felt a hand grab his ankle, which made him recoil backwards. The hand had a good grip on his leg though. Jaune followed the charred hand to the body that was covered completely in ash, soot and burned flesh. It croaked out one final word. "Help…"

Jaune began to shiver in fear. Everywhere he looked death and destruction awaited him. Just as it felt like he was going to lose his mind everything went dark. Jaune tried to call for something, someone, anything! Nothing came out.

All of a sudden there was a huge flash of light. Jaune's eyes tried to adjust to the sudden change. As they did a picture slowly came into view. There seemed to be words written in red paint across some kind of wall. Jaune had no idea where it came from. As he blinked any blurriness away, the words came into focus. They read out "You caused this" all across the wall. Below the words was a portrait of Jaune drawn with the same red paint. Only in this portrait, Jaune looked as if he was smiling. And it was no ordinary smile, it was a smile filled with evil. Jaune puts his hands to his head, and let out a scream.

* * *

Jaune let out a scream as he rose from the ground. It took him a few seconds to recognize the room he was in was a dorm room. His heart was beating wildly, which made him clutch his chest and take a few deep breaths in order to calm himself down a bit. After a few deep breaths Jaune could feel his heartbeat was returning to normal. As he remembered the nightmare once more his body started shivering involuntarily. Perhaps washing his face would help?

As he crawls to his feet he could feel his joints aching from soreness, even his face fell sore. His head hurts, yet he couldn't recall drinking all that much. Jaune was certain that he had followed Mason's advice of only having two drinks tops.

When he rises he sees all four members of team BRNZ in beds. Jaune's eyes widened in surprise, wondering what he was doing in their dorm. Jaune looks around and notices the dorm had almost no kind of furniture. He found it weird that they would keep their dorm so empty. However he remembered last night they were all too drunk to try and get into their own dorm.

Jaune would have helped them into their dorm, but by the time he reached his own door, he just wanted to go to sleep, and he knew that leaving BRNZ on their own would have been a horrible mistake, as they would have probably done something stupid. So he gave a half assed lie saying that his dorm was actually their dorm. surprisingly they believed him.

Jaune remembered trying to coax them to sleep. It took a while but eventually they all fell asleep. Jaune let them use all of his beds while he slept on the floor. He didn't feel right letting one of them sleep on the floor.

He was about to go inside the bathroom to wash his face, but he figured he might as well get everything done in there that needs to be done. He grabs a towel, a pair of pants, a black T-shirt with the Tv design on it. It had the word "Bewarb" with a picture of the person who said it underneath it. Finally, he of course grabbed underwear.

Jaune entered the bathroom and wasted no time. He immediately took off all of his clothes and hopped in the shower. As the water slowly went from cool to hot Jaune let out a pleasured sigh. Feeling the warm water cleanse all the dirt and sweat he gathered up yesterday was so satisfying. Jaune usually takes quick five minute showers. He often had to growing up with his sisters, and then sharing a room with his team. Now however, since he didn't expect team BRNZ to wake up anytime soon and he had the entire shower to himself, he was going to just relax for a little bit.

His mind was blank the entire time he was showering. It was so relaxing he could have sworn he would fall asleep standing up. He knew he had to get out eventually but even so he wished he could stay in here forever. After what he assumed was twenty minutes passed by he got done showering and grabbed the towel he brought in.

As he dried himself off he saw his figure in the mirror, but it was covered by the steam the hot water created. He wiped off some of the steam to get a better look at himself, seeing if he needed to shave, or to comb his hair.

When Jaune removed the hand form the mirror, the one thing his eyes turned to was the burn scar he got from Junkrat. The handprint that burned Jaune's belly was hideous. The slight orange and reddish discoloration was the only thing Jaune could see. He puts his own hand to the scar and flinches slightly at the rough touch of it. He can remember every vivid detail of how he got that scar. From being hooked by Roadhog, to the punch to the stomach, to Junkrat's palm explosion. Jaune looked down at his hand to see it was slightly shaking. He grabs his hand and tries to calm himself down.

That's when he remembered why he got that scar in the first place. Jaune asked himself this question: Would he have been okay if it was May who got the scar? Would he have been okay if it was anyone _but_ him who had gotten the scar? Or possibly worse? Jaune already knew that answer. Sure, he may not like looking at the scar, but he'd rather have millions of disfigurations on his body then let anyone, especially his friends, get hurt.

After that little incident, Jaune brushed his teeth, combs his hair, put on deodorant, and got dressed. As he walked out of the bathroom steam came out into his room. He looked around to see none of team BRNZ has awoken. Something told Jaune that he was going to be babysitting for the first few hours of the day. So he decided to get anything BRNZ might need to cure a hangover, or at the very least make it feel less painful. That included a breakfast with toast, eggs and bacon, and a lot of water or orange juice.

He wrote a note to anyone who woke up before he got back saying he would be back and for them to not do anything drastic. With a plan set Jaune put on his shoes and left his dorm.

 **Down in the cafeteria:**

Despite it being a little late for breakfast, as it was ten-thrity, the cafeteria still had a few people hanging around. Jaune assumed that people always ate at weird times so the kitchen staff must always be working. Jaune walked up to the lunch staff that was serving food. The kitchen staff greeted him and he asked for his breakfast. As he did, he asked if he could get his in a box and boxes for team BRNZ.

"What do you need four boxes of food for?" the lunch lady asked with a quirked eyebrow. As Jaune explained it was for team BRNZ the lunch lady shrugged. She went to the back and grabbed some decent sized boxes for the food. She asked what they would all be having and Jaune answered her. As she filled the boxes with food Jaune asked if he could also get a gallon or two of water and OJ. The lunch lady said it would cost a bit of lien. Knowing he didn't have any he cancelled the drinks. Guess they'll have to drink sink water.

Jaune grabbed all the boxes, grabbed some silverware and napkins, and began to head back to his dorm. Since he did not have a bag he had to carry the boxes in a stack which made balancing all five of them very hard. He passed by what looked to be a teacher, as she had a clipboard that reminded him Goodwitch, and she looked a little too old to be a student.

"Excuse me, ma'am?" he asked. The teacher looked up from her clipboard and Saw Jaune. "Can you help me out please?" Jaune had a weak smile as he asked that. However, the teacher just squinted at Jaune and frowned for a second. She then continued to look at her clipboard and walk straight pass Jaune. he tried to call out for her help but she didn't even look back at him.

When she turned the corner Jaune sighed. _"Guess people are still a little mad about me being here,"_ Jaune thought. With a sigh he continued the hike to his dorm.

 **Jaune's Dorm:**

Jaune opened his dorm to see that BRNZ was still asleep. Knowing they all had to get up eventually, Jaune slowly turned on the lights. He kept them somewhat dim since he knew that people with hangovers can be sensitive to light. He sets the food down and goes over to the nearest bed, which was occupied by Roy.

He shakes Roy a little bit to see if he would wake up. Roy let out a soft groan but didn't even open his eyes. Jaune shakes him a little harder and Jaune flinches a little, quickly opening his eyes. "Sorry," Jaune said as he took a step back. "Didn't mean to startle you." Roy groans as he sits up.

"My head feels like it's on fire," Roy complained. "What time is it?"

"About ten-forty, give or take." Roy let out yet another low groan.

"Oh god, it's that late already?" Jaune hummed a yes and Roy let out a sigh. Jaune went over and grabbed a bottle and went into the bathroom to fill it up with water. When he came back he gave it to Roy, who took a giant swig out of it. As he was done he exhaled loudly. "Thanks."

"No problem," Jaune replied. "Now if you'll excuse me I have to try and wake up the rest of your team." Jaune handed him a box of food and the silverware. "In the meantime have some breakfast." Jaune went over to the next bed, which was the one Brawnz was sleeping in. As he shook Brawnz the leader let out a confused grunt. He didn't open his eyes but when Jaune shook him he stopped snoring. "Brawnz?" Brawnz let out another grunt. "Dude get up, it's almost eleven."

"Ah fuck…" Brawnz moaned out. He smacked his lips and called out to Jaune. "Can I get some water or something?" Jaune hands him the water bottle and Brawnz chugs down the rest of the water. He hands it back to Jaune. "Thanks man."

Jaune smiled as he handed him his food. "Here, eat up." Brawnz looked down at the food and realized how hungry he was. As he dug in his food he saw Jaune go to the bathroom to fill up the water bottle. When he came back, Brawnz asked him a question.

"Jaune did you get all of us food?"

"Of course I did," Jaune said. "What kind of a friend would I be if I got food for myself and didn't get you guys anything?" Brawnz looked down at the food and smiled. Jaune was such a sap, and yet he couldn't hate him for that.

"Will you guys shut up?!" Nolan nearly yelled. "I have a major headache and you guys talking is making it worst."

Jaune let out a chuckle as he went over to hand Nolan the water bottle. "Yeah yeah suck it up." He said. As Jaune shook the water bottle, Nolan looked at it and then at Jaune and then took a drink from it. He downed the entire bottle. Nolan tosses it back to Jaune but still has a scowl on his face. "Well someone's in a bad mood."

"Fuck off." Jaune rolls his eyes but still goes into the bathroom to fill up the water bottle. "Why do you only have one water bottle anyway?"

"I only need one for myself, seeing as how I'm living here alone."

"Oh right," Brawnz said as he swallowed some of his food. "We aren't in our dorm. No wonder it looked so empty."

The comment made Jaune's heart sink a little bit, but he knew it was true. He was hoping his furniture would be here soon. He finished filling up the water bottle and handed it back to Nolan who took a couple of big gulps. As he did so Jaune handed him his food and silverwear. Nolan let out a low thanks and returned the water bottle to him. That left one last person of team BRNZ to wake up.

He goes over to May and began to shake her. "Hey May, you awake?"

"What?" May moaned out. Jaune asked the question again and May groaned. "I am now, what is it?"

"I'm just waking you up since it's almost eleven."

"Cool, wake me up when it's two." She had an annoyed tone that told Jaune to back off, which he gladly did. With that, May shifted and Jaune assumed that she went back to sleep. He shrugged, grabbed his food and went over to the three guys of BRNZ.

Jaune and the three of them continued to chat about last night's events. Of course, team BRNZ were angry that they got drunk before seeing Jaune drunk and for putting him through the hell that is taking care of them. At least, Brawnz and Roy did, Nolan was just angry because of the horrible headache and didn't really talk. Jaune said he enjoyed the night out despite that and thanked them for taking him out and getting used to the streets of Shade.

As they recalled all of the events, they all had smiles on their faces, despite three fourths of them having hangovers. After enough time passed, Brawnz suggested they get out of Jaune's hair and decided to head back to their room.

The three guys did a few matches of rock-paper-scissors to see who had to carry May back to their dorm room. The role went to Roy who sighed in annoyance. Brawnz was in charge of May's food. Roy grabbed May and carried her bridal style as the others gathered at the door.

"Are you sure you guys don't need any help?" Jaune asked making sure they were okay. Brawnz put his hands up.

"Jaune," he said. "You've done enough for us. We're good."

"But maybe I can-"

"No Jaune," Brawnz said a little more firmly. "We're good. We don't need a baby sitter." Jaune recoiled a bit but nodded his head. "We'll see you around." Brawnz held out his fist. Jaune fist bumps it and said goodbye to the team.

As they left Jaune went back into his room and let out a big sigh. Again, not much to do, and this was the last day before the classes actually started. That was when Jaune recollected the nightmare he had before he woke up. He planned on talking to Leonardo about something help with those but got busy the day before. He figured now would be as good a time as any. He grabbed his scroll and key to his dorm, double checked to make sure he had clothes on, and headed for the infirmary.

 **At the infirmary:**

Jaune followed the red crosses around the academy to find the infirmary. While he tried to remember where the infirmary was from Nolan's tour this place was still new to Jaune. Luckily he was able to locate it in ten minutes. He was glad he didn't have to go looking for the infirmary for an hour.

He opens the door and looks around the room. A couple of people were in the beds despite looking normal. Some seemed to be gripping their sides or heads, most likely nursing their own wounds. Jaune could see a couple of nurses helping the students as they lied in bed. One of the nurses saw Jaune and said something to the student next to her. He looked at Jaune and burrowed his eyes a little but nodded at her. The nurse gets up and walks over to Jaune.

"Hello there," She greeted. "Do you need an ice pack?" Jaune subconsciously touched his face and winced a little at the bruises he got from last night's brawl.

"Nah that's okay," Jaune answered. "I'm actually looking for Leonardo."

"Follow me please," The nurse instructed. She walked further into the infirmary with Jaune close behind. "Doctor Leo is currently with another student for some medication. May I ask why you need to see him?"

"I've been having some nightmares and I was hoping he would help." They reached a door and Jaune could hear a few voices from inside.

"Well this is his office. I'm assuming he'll have you assign to a counselor for a therapy session." Jaune nodded in understanding. It made sense since Leonardo was a doctor, and not a therapist. "All right I'll get paperwork for you while you wait." Jaune thanked the nurse. As she left he leaned against the wall and took out his scroll. He was scrolling through some comedy app he downloaded and looking at some of the stupid pictures people posted. After a few minutes of scrolling the door opened up and he turned, hoping to see the doctor. It wasn't him. It was Malcolm, the bull faunus that nearly bashed his face in when he first arrived here. He was still wearing the grey cargo pants with the "RIP" belt buckle and black shoes. He even wore the black t-shirt with the red skull and white dagger. The only thing missing was the grey hoody. His hair also looked somewhat disheveled, almost as if he just woke up.

"Thank you doctor," The bull faunus called back inside. "I'll talk with the nurses next time." With that Malcolm closed the doors and pocketed what looked to be some kind of pill bottle. He turned around to see Jaune leaning against the wall. He lets out a low growl. "What are you doing here?" Malcolm took note of Jaune's bruises and let out a tiny scoff. "What can't take a little hit so you're asking for meds already?"

Normally, Jaune would have backed away and try to laugh it off to make himself less of a target. No point in poking the bear right? For some reason though, Jaune didn't feel right doing that. Something made him want to be a little more aggressive in his approach. So, he frowned a little bit and glared back at Malcolm.

"What I'm doing here is none of your business," Jaune challenged. Malcolm looked a little surprised at Jaune's confidence but merely perked an eyebrow. Jaune didn't even know where this confidence from. Maybe it was from being pushed around for too long, or maybe it's because he didn't want another Cardin. Either way, he stood his ground.

"Good thing we're in the infirmary." Malcolm made a fist which in the process cracked his knuckles. "When I'm done with you, you'll be hooked up to life support." Jaune stopped leaning against the wall and pocketed his scroll. Jaune put his right fist into his left hand and cracked it. Again, Malcolm looked a little surprised at the confidence. The two of them look around to see people looking at them, wondering if they will begin brawling. Malcolm backed away and shook his head. "No, not here. I'll beat you in combat class. There, everyone will realize how much of a fake you are."

With that Malcolm turned and left Jaune alone. Jaune let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. The nurse came back with a couple of papers and handed them to Jaune. "Thanks for not fighting in here," She said. "Anyway, fill these out and then hand them to the doctor."

"Thank you," Jaune thanked. "Do you happen to have a pen?" The nurse nodded and handed Jaune the pen ahe had hidden in her pocket. She left him alone as he filled out the form. It was the usual stuff. Name, dorm room number, what was his problem, stuff like that. When he was done filling it out, he walked up to the door. He put his hand up and took a deep breath. He knocked lightly on the door and heard the doctor's voice call back.

"Enter!" Jaune opened the door to see the doctor sitting in his chair writing down a note of some kind. Without looking up he greeted Jaune. "How are you doing today Mr. Arc?"

"Uhh... how did you know it was me?"

The doc opened a drawer and put the paper in a folder. He looked at Jaune with a small smile. "Just because I can't see you, doesn't mean I couldn't hear you." Jaune let out a small chuckle and scratched the back of his head.

"So you heard that huh?"

"I did. So I'm hoping the two of you will settle whatever it is between the two of you on your own. Don't bring others into it."

"I can't help it if he hates me!" Jaune replied. The doctor shrugs. He noticed the papers in Jaune's hands and pointed at it.

"What's that?" Jaune handed the papers over to Leo. He takes them and reads over them. Jaune takes a seat across from the doctor's desk and takes a look around the room. It had the normal stuff in a doctor's office. Boxes filled with gloves, a sink to wash his hands, various tools to check a patient, all sorts of stuff. Jaune also saw a couple of personal touches in the room. For instance, in the corner was a small fern bush in a pot. Hanging on the walls was various artworks of woods. It gave the room a more comfortable feeling. On the desk were various papers, a computer, and a couple of pictures in frames.

"Ah… nightmares," Leo commented. Jaune turned his attention back to Leo. The doctor looked up at the blonde with a quizzical look. "How often are these nightmares?"

"I mean… I only got them recently."

"After the initiation?" Jaune nodded.

"However I didn't have one the night before, if that changes anything." Leo looked a little conflicted about something. He took a minute to think and Jaune began to worry. Was he going to say its normal and to suck it up? Or worse, to tell him that he's being too much of a coward about it? Jaune didn't want to suffer through those nightmares again. Yeah he had one night away from them, but that doesn't mean the nights he does have them are going to be fun.

"All right," Leo said, breaking Jaune from his thoughts. "I will sign you up for a counselor, but I figure we should at least give them something to work with." Leo grabs a notebook, a pen, and then motions towards Jaune. "So, how about we have a small impromptu therapy session?"

At first Jaune didn't want to take Leo's time away from him, but part of him said he needed to do it. Besides, he wouldn't have suggested it if he didn't mean it, right? Jaune gave a curt nod, and Leo began the session.

 **To be continued.**

 **Beta Reader: TheShadowOfZama**


	24. Arc 2 Chapter 11

"We are discussing this, now!" Ruby demanded.

"Let us out Ruby!" Pyrrha snapped at the younger leader.

"Pyrrha, calm down!" Nora said, trying to defuse the situation. Right now teams RWBY and NPR were in RWBY's dorm discussing Jaune being at Shade, or at least trying to. It had been a few days since the teams had first heard the news. After Ozpin let them go, the first thing NPR and RWBY did was try and call Jaune on his scroll. Of course, since the ex-leader changed his scroll number all they got was a message saying that the number was no longer in use.

After that incident, the tensions that were hiding beneath the false exterior of forgiveness resurfaced again. At first it was a disagreement about what to do about Jaune. Should they try to contact him as soon as they could? Should they ignore him altogether? This was the start of the escalation.

It soon turned from discussing what to do, to forcing opinions onto each other. Back and forth the two teams bickered and bickered to the point they weren't getting anywhere, which lead to this point in time. Ruby called everyone into the room and decided that no one would be leaving until they all came to an agreement. How did she do that? She pushed her bunkbed into the door to block it and stayed there to make sure no one got any ideas of leaving. "Ruby, are you sure this is the way to handle it?" Yang questioned.

"Yes I'm sure," Ruby answered. "Look let's just try to agree on how we're going to see Jaune again okay?"

"Forcing us into a room isn't going to help us get to Jaune!" Pyrrha snapped.

"Pyrrha enough!" Ren yelled. The fact that the passive boy yelled was enough to get everyone to be silent. What made it even more surprising was the fact that he yelled at his own leader. The raven haired boy glared at everyone. "Right now, arguing with each other won't bring Jaune back and it won't get us closer to him." Everyone knew that Ren was right. Arguing would solve nothing. When no one spoke up, Ren took a deep breath and turned to Ruby. "Ruby, what do you suggest we do?"

The young leader let out a tiny squeak at the mention of her name. She looks at everyone and tried to come up with something that makes everyone happy. "Right now I think we need to focus on contacting Jaune." The two teams shared looks and nodded in agreement. "The first question we should ask is this: When should we contact him?"

"We've been trying ever since we found out about his condition, why stop now?" Pyrrha asked.

"He could still be in serious condition," Weiss suggested. "Maybe we should wait a little until he heals up."

"You're all a bunch of idiots," a voice outside the room says. Everyone turns towards the door and stare at it. Ruby crawls between the beds and pushes the bunk bed away from the door to open it. When she does it is revealed that Cardin was the person behind the door. RWBY and NPR all frown at the leaders appearance.

"What do you want Cardin?" Pyrrha said with slight venom in her voice. Cardin held up his hands in mock self-defense.

"Easy there, I'm just trying to help you out with Jauney boy," Cardin stated. He grew an arrogant smirk. "Of course, you don't have to accept it if you don't want it."

"What do you mean Winchester?" Yang asked, her eyes flickering between red and lilac.

"Will you guys accept my help or not?"

The two teams looked at each other. What did Cardin have to gain from helping them? At the same time, what he had could help them with Jaune. Assuming it was real info and he wasn't messing with them.

"Fine," Ruby said reluctantly.

"If we find out that you're lying Cardin," Pyrrha threatened. She grabbed his shirt and glared him dead in the eyes. "There is no doctor alive that will undo what we do to you. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal," Cardin stated. With all of that established Cardin was thrown inside by Pyrrha. Ruby closed the door. Cardin went into the middle of the room and saw that everyone was glaring at him to get on with whatever he came here for. He took out his scroll and asked a question. "Have any of you guys seen the news lately?"

"I have," Blake answered. "There has been no news of Jaune. Not after the first report of him in Vacuo."

"Maybe not in the Valian news." Cardin found what he was looking for on his scroll and set it on one of the counters for the room to see. He gathered them around him and pointed at his scroll. "However he's been pretty famous in the Vacuan news."

The article had a video of what looked to be a bar brawl. The headline read "Beacon Fraud gets in bar fight." The article came from a Vacuo news network. As they all read the article it told of how Jaune got into a fight with a bar patron, but it told why he got into it. The bar owner said that Jaune was protecting one of his waitresses from being harassed. The owner also stated that if Jaune didn't step in he would of. Jaune just saved him most of the hassle.

As they read the article Ren had a question for Cardin. "What were you doing looking at Vacuan news anyway?" the raven haired boy asked.

Cardin let out a low grunt. "Oobleck is making me watch other countries news to see if 'History repeates itself' or some grimm shit like that."

Ren let out a low hum, not fully convinced but decided to not question it. At the end of the article was the video of the fight. Cardin clicked play for all of them. The video started with Jaune being kicked away from the other guy. At first everyone thought that Jaune was going to get his butt whooped. However, throughout the video it was like seeing a new person in Jaune. They saw stuff he learned from Pyrrha implemented in the fight, but also other fight styles. There were a few times Jaune did a couple of kicks to the other guy that Yang swore looked familiar. Yang just thought she was imagining it.

In the end, when Jaune won the fight, everyone felt relief, and a tinge of pride. The blonde goofball who could barely hold his sword and shield at the beginning of the year just beat someone in a bar fight. When the video was done Cardin pocketed his scroll. "So there you have it," he said. "Jauney boy's fine." Cardin made his way to the door. As he opened the door he turned back inside. "I'll see you guys around."

"Wait Cardin!" Ruby said. The other leader looked down at the black and red haired leader. Ruby gave him a small smile. "Thank you." Cardin let out a low chuckle.

"Sure thing Shortstack." With that Cardin left the room. When he left, there was a different tone in the room. It wasn't one filled with worry about Jaune's wellbeing. Now it was filled with joy, and relief that he was okay.

"Okay, so now that we know Jaune is okay," Ruby started. "What do we do now?"

"Well he changed his scroll number," Yang said. "So we need to find someone who's good with phones and can tell us Vomit boy's new scroll number."

"Does anyone know someone like that?" Nora asked. Everyone took a minute to remember if they knew anyone good with computers and the like. Blake's cat ears twitched when she got something.

"I might know someone."

* * *

Blake and Ren walked into the alleyway in the middle of Vale. This contact of Blake's seemed to be an old acquaintance back in her White Fang days. Ren disliked being in the small alleyway so tried to make some small talk.

"How do you know this guy again?" Ren asked the cat Faunus.

"I don't," Blake admitted. Ren gave Blake a look that told her to continue explaining. "Back during my time with the White Fang, we often got missions that lead to sting operations. We later found out that a certain group of hackers named DedSec was able to hack mission files and change them to get our soldiers captured."

"So now we're asking the people who gave you trouble for assistance?" Blake let out a tiny giggle.

"Old enemies can be the best allies." Ren chuckles at her joke the two finally reach the meet up.

"All right, put on the mask," Blake said. Ren nodded and pulled a balaclava over his mouth, as did Blake. Blake also pulled a hood over her head so that only her amber eyes showed.

The alleyway turned into a bigger square lot that had basketball hoops on two ends of it. There looked to be a cart that can extend and retract to reach higher points in the corner of the alley. It was extended to the top of the third story of the building next to it. A couple of crates that said "Breakable Object" on the side of it were lying around as well. All in all it looked like a stereotypical alley in the city. The two of them decide to wait for their DedSec contact to arrive.

Blake noticed that someone left a basketball lying in the alley. She walks over to it and picks it up. She dribbles a little bit and looks at one of the hoops. She holds onto the ball and then tries to shoot. She makes it and she does a tiny fist pump.

"Have you played a lot before Blake?" Ren asked walking up to her. Blake lets out a tiny chuckle.

"A little, but I was never any good." She pointed at Ren. "What about you, have you played?"

Ren shrugged lightly. "I've never been a fan of stuff like this." Blake runs over to the ball and tosses it over to Ren. He catches it and Blake nods her head to the hoop.

"Come on," She edged. "Give it a shot." Ren looked at the orange ball in his hands. Since they didn't have anything better to do Ren took a shot. The ball hit the hoop but didn't go in. Ren let out a defeated sigh but Blake tossed it back to him. "Come on keep trying you'll get it."

Ren stared at the ball a little bit, deciding whether or not he should. He decides he'll do it again. He shoots and actually makes it this time. Blake claps a couple of times for him and then she goes onto the makeshift court and shoots into the hoop. For the next few minutes Blake and Ren just continued to shoot the basketball in the hoop as they wait for their contact.

They got so involved with their game they didn't even notice the extendable cart was slowly lowering. Ren tossed the ball to Blake who then shot the ball. It went perfectly in without hitting the backboard or the hoop itself. "Dang you two got some nice skills!" a voice behind them says.

The sudden voice caused the two of them to turn around and take out their weapons. While Blake drew one of her pistols, Ren took out both and they aimed their weapons at the person behind them. The man also drew his pistol and aimed at the two of them. He had a hat, sunglasses, and a mask all with the DedSec logo on them. He wore a black shirt with a grey unbuttoned plaid shirt. He had jeans that were ripped at the knees and tennis shoes. He was also wearing a red backpack. He held his pistol at them with both of his hands on the gun. From the skin he did show it was obvious that he was brown skinned.

"Are you Retr0?" Blake asked.

"Depends," the man answered. His voice was somewhat deep and yet had some kind of calming effect at the same time. "Are you BelleKitty?" Blake slightly cringed at the name. Yang was the one who came up with it and used it for their screen name.

"Depends." The three of them stare at each other for a little longer, guns still pointed and ready for to be fired. "All right, count of three we say the password?" Blake nodded her head and the man nodded his head back. "Okay, one, two, three."

"Lugnut." The contact and Blake said the same word at the same time. When they did Retr0 put his hands up and pointed the gun away from them. He holsters the gun and still kept his hands up in surrender.

"We cool?" Retr0 asked. Blake and Ren slowly holster their weapons and nods. Retr0 lets out a small breath of relief. "Awesome." He takes out his scroll and walks over to the two huntsmen in training. He looks at them with his scroll still out in his hand. "So why'd you want to meet in person? We usually can do stuff like this over the phone and through texts and stuff."

"We want to make sure it works," Ren answered.

"We also want to make sure you don't screw us over and just take our money," Blake added.

"All right all right," Retr0 said with his hands up. "Message received." Retr0 clears his throat and takes out a laptop from his backpack. He sits down crossed legged and opens the laptop. "So you said you need me to find someone's scroll number right?"

"Yes," Blake said. "He's an old friend and he changed his scroll number for some reason." Retr0 looks up from his laptop.

"Do you know why he changed it without telling you guys?"

"I believe he didn't want us to worry about him," Ren stated. "He didn't want us to call him if we heard he got hurt or something like that."

"And instead he's making you guys worry more…" Blake and Ren nodded. Retr0 lets out a low chuckle. "Guy sounds like an idiot."

"He is," Blake and Ren said at the same time. The two looked at each other and they knew they were both smiling underneath the balaclavas.

"All right, in order to get this started I need his original scroll number." Ren nods and gives Retr0 what he asked for. Retr0 plugs the number into his phone. He then hooks up his phone to his laptop. After a few seconds the hacker begins to type away on his computer. "So why do you guys think he doesn't want you to worry?"

"He's always been like that," Blake said. "Always wants to make sure his friends aren't hurt or worry for him. He wants us to think that he's doing fine."

"What makes you believe he's not?" Retr0 asked while still typing away on his laptop.

"We got a video of him getting in a bar fight," Ren said. "Granted he did win but even so…"

Retr0 let out another chuckle. "Sounds like the dog's doing all right to me." A few more seconds pass by. "And we should be good!" Retr0 turned his laptop around to show a new scroll number for Jaune. Ren and Blake take a picture of the phone number on the laptop screen. When they did Retr0 closed his laptop. "So we good?"

"Not yet," Blake said. Retr0 looked at her as she pointed at the scroll in his hands. "Call him."

"What?"

"I said call him."

Retr0 looked at the two of them as if they were crazy. The two huntsmen in training glared at the hacker and he sighed in defeat. He mumbled the numbers as he hit them on his scroll. He put the phone on speaker and the other two waited in anticipation. The phone rung three times and Blake and Ren were about to think that this Retr0 just ripped them off. Then the phone got an answer.

* * *

Right now, Jaune was just relaxing in his room watching videos on his scroll. He got back from Leo's office about forty ago. The session wasn't anything too drastic, but it was an hour long. Leonardo wanted Jaune to talk about the dreams he had, and how bad they were, how often, how graphic, etc.

Jaune explained as best as he could about his nightmares. He explained how every person he has killed showed up and would replay every gruesome death he had caused. Jaune admitted he killed those bandits because they chose to attack him first. It wasn't his fault, the bandits pushed him to do it! It was self defense

Leo jotted down the notes of Jaune's dreams in a notebook. After the session he put the notes in an empty folder and wrote something on it. He then told Jaune something that might help. He told Jaune to write down all thoughts he had while experiencing the nightmares. Fear, surprise, guilt, happiness, regret, Jaune was to write down any feelings he had during them.

Leonardo told Jaune he would get a therapist for him as soon as he could to help work on those nightmares. However, just as Jaune was about to leave, Leonardo said one final thing that stuck with Jaune.

"It would also help that you don't run away from this problem Mr. Arc. Ignoring it could only make it worst."

Jaune had no idea what Leonardo was talking about. He wasn't running away from his nightmares. After all he went to his office to talk about them in the first place! For some reason though, those words still clung to him.

He was watching videos because he was trying to shake the words from his head. Right now he was watching a guy play a multiplayer game with his friends where they use stupid strategies that actually make it harder for them. Jaune did admit it was pretty funny.

Halfway through the video he got a call. Jaune sat up and looked at the number. It wasn't anyone he recognized or had in his contact list. He thought maybe one of BRNZ got his number somehow by some weird accident or that maybe it was the headmistress calling. He answered the call and put his scroll to his ear.

"Jaune speaking," he said.

* * *

Ren and Blake's eyes widen at the voice. It sounded like him and he even said his name, but they needed to be sure. Sure he said his name was Jaune but there could be a lot of Jaune's in the world. Blake pointed at Retr0.

"Make him talk," she whispered to him.

"Uh…" Retr0 stuttered. "Mr. Jaune, did you know you are liable for a chance to win a new car?" Blake and Ren mentally groan at the poor attempt.

"Not interested," Jaune said. The call then ended. Despite the short call, Ren recognized his own leader's voice. Blake looked at the raven haired boy, and he gave her a nod.

"All right," Blake said as she dug in her pocket. She took out her wallet and took out a bundle of quiet a few lien. "Here's your payment." Retr0 greedily rubbed his hands and took the money from Blake's hands.

"Don't mind if I do!" Retr0 said as he pocketed the cash. He gives the huntsmen in training a two finger salute. "I'll catch y'all around."

The two students wave goodbye to Retr0 as he turned the other way and walked to the opposite side of the alley. As the two students leave, they made sure that Retr0 wasn't following them before they took off the masks.

"So it was really Jaune?" Blake asked Ren. The boy gave her a smile and nod. Ren was happy. Blake could tell from the way there was more of a skip in his step, how he stood straighter and how his smile never left his face. Blake knew that Ren wasn't one to express his emotions out that freely, but she learned to pick up these subtle hints when working with the White Fang. This was a big step up from the Ren she had seen these past few days.

If this was how Ren would take it, Nora and maybe even Ruby were probably going to need a cage to keep their ecstasy in check.

 **To be continued**

 **Beta Reader: TheShadowOfZama**

 **A/N Hey everyone! So it's been a while since I last talked to you guys in an authors note so I thought I'd do one. Right now I just want to see how you guys are liking/disliking the story. This is by far one of my better stories imo but at the same time I know there is a lot of things I can improve on. Shadow helps a lot but I still would like to hear your guys opinions. I may not answer your questions in a private message or a review but that's because I don't want to get peoples hopes up about certain aspects of this story. Anyway enough rambling. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and stick around for the next chapter!**


	25. Arc 2 Chapter 12

"Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!" Nora said as she bounced up and down on the bed. "I can't believe we get to hear Jaune Jaune's voice again!" Right now everyone was in NPR's dorm getting ready to call Jaune again. Blake and Ren returned an hour ago with the good news. Ruby wanted to make sure everyone was present for the big moment. Well almost everyone.

Weiss, Blake and Yang all had something on their mind about Jaune. However they kept quiet because Ruby was putting so much effort into trying to reconnect with him again they didn't want to shatter her optimism. At least not yet. One thought lingered in three fourths of RWBY's minds: Would Jaune even accept the call?

After what they did to Jaune, would he even want to talk to RWBY again? Not to mention, he changed his scroll number for a reason. They would get if he kept in contact with team JNPR too, but the fact that he didn't wasn't a good sign.

"All right guys, gather around!" Ruby called as she waved her friends over. She had her scroll out and was practically squealing with excitement. Everyone circled around her closely and all eyes were locked on the scroll. "Blake, if you would please." The cat Faunus nodded as she took out her own scroll. Ren took out his as well.

As Blake called out the numbers, and Ruby typed them into the phone, the tension in the room continued to fill. When the final number was called out, everyone in the room held their breath in anticipation. Ruby pressed call.

One ring.

Two rings.

Three rings.

Four rings.

Five rings.

There is a click, and then a robotic voice answered the call. "Please your message for…" Then it was Jaune's voice.

"Jaune Arc."

There was a beep and everyone just looked at each other confused. Ruby hung up and looked around. Her team was mostly confused, but it was NPR that seemed to take the hit hard. Ruby came up with an idea to hopefully cleanse any sorrowful thoughts.

"I'm sure he's just busy!" Ruby blurted out. Everyone looked at her and the younger girl gulped. "I mean it is a new school! He's probably meeting his teachers right now. After all, classes start tomorrow!" Yang looked at NPR to see they were unconvinced. Not that she could blame them. Still though, her big sister instincts kicked in and she decided to help Ruby.

"Ruby's right," She said. "And that's assuming they start classes the same time as us. For all we know Vomit Boy's already having classes."

"That's a fair assessment," Weiss commented. "Maybe we should wait until later in the evening."

"Can you just try again?" Pyrrha asked. "Please?" Ruby looked at the other red head and could tell she was missing Jaune a lot. She couldn't blame Pyrrha though. It's been almost a month since they last talked to Jaune. Ruby presses the redial option on her scroll and puts it on speaker again.

One ring.

Two rings.

Three rings.

Four rings.

Five rings.

Again, the voicemail message plays again. You could almost hear the exact moment NPR's heart shattered. Of course Ruby wouldn't let them stay sad for long. "See!" She exclaimed. "I'm sure he's just busy with something. He'll call us back eventually. We can even try again later at night."

NPR looked at Ruby and saw her innocent, optimistic eyes and they couldn't help but smile at it. "All right," Pyrrha said. "We'll come back in a few hours. Hopefully Jaune will be done with whatever it is he's done with."

"Yeah and if not," Nora started. "We'll go all the way over to Vacuo and break his legs for ignoring us!" Nora said that with her normal enthusiasm that they could tell she was joking. Mostly.

"We'll see you all in a little bit," Ren said. With that, NPR left the room. When they did, Blake closed the door behind them and turned to Ruby.

"Ruby," She said. "Are you sure that Jaune's busy? How do you know he isn't ignoring us?" Much to everyone's surprise, Ruby answered right away.

"Well his phone rang for the entire time right? If he was ignoring us he would have ended the call right away."

Weiss, Yang and Blake all shared looks. While Ruby was right, they all still had a feeling that he was actually ignoring them. Why else go through the trouble of changing a scroll number? Still, Ruby still had hope for Jaune. Right now that was good enough for them to play along. If he keeps this up though, someone's going to have to tell Ruby.

None of them wanted to do that.

* * *

Jaune was walking around the Shade hallways looking for something to do. After the phone call with that scammer he watched a little bit more of the gamers and decided to not sit in his dorm any longer. While he didn't know what to do, he was sure something would pop up. Hopefully not another ambush.

"Hi Jaune!" a familiar voice called out. Jaune looked around and saw Gwen walking behind him. Next to her however was a guy he's never seen before. He was a creamed skinned guy who looked a little older than him. He had short wavy brown hair, green eyes, and a small goatee around his lips. He was wearing a plain grey t-shirt and black cargo shorts. His arm was snaked around Gwen's waist with his hand on her hip.

Jaune smiled and walked over to the two. "Hey Gwen," he said with a smile. He pointed at the guy next to him. "Let me guess, you're Gwen's boyfriend?"

"How did you know?" the guy chuckled. "Is it my dashing good looks?"

"I think the fact that you have your arm around her waist and she's not breaking it is a good sign." Everyone laughed at Jaune's joke. Jaune sticks out his arm. "Jaune Arc."

"Oh I know who you are." The guy shakes Jaune's hand. "I'm Brandon. I have ot say you're pretty infamous here Jaune." Jaune let out a sigh. He knew where this was going.

"I'm assuming because of I'm the fraud?"

"That and the fact you beat up someone in a bar brawl." Jaune's eyes widen when he heard that. As far as he knew the only people who knew about that were team BRNZ, Mason, and himself. Well there was also the staff at the bar, the guy he was beating up and the bar patrons…

"Someone recorded it?" Jaune asked aloud.

"Dude it's a bar fight, people are definitely recording that shit." Jaune sighed. Just what he needed; even more bad publicity. Luckily Gwen spoke up.

"I-it wasn't anything bad or anything like that!" She squeaked. Jaune looked up at her quizzically. She looked up at Brandon who nodded his head.

"Gwen's right, in fact it kind of paints you as a hero," Brandon said.

"Glad to see one of the gods is giving me a break," Jaune joked. Brandon hummed at his joke. "So what are you two doing?"

"Well we were just going to hang out for a little bit. Since she was with you at the initiation we haven't hung out for a while." Jaune put his hands up.

"I understand. I won't third wheel." Jaune lets out a tiny chuckle. "Besides if I did, I might make you jealous." Brandon quirked an eyebrow.

"Why's that?"

Jaune gestured to Gwen. "Well Gwen said you get jealous pretty easily." Brandon looked over to his girlfriend.

"Did she now?" Jaune swore he heard a tone shift in Brandon's voice and saw Gwen's mood change a little bit. Despite it being very small and very quick, Jaune took note of it. Brandon looked back up to Jaune. "Anyway, we won't take any more of your day. I'll see you around man." Brandon raised his fist and Jaune fist bumped it.

"I'll see you Brandon." Jaune then nodded to Gwen. "I'll see you Gwen." Gwen gave Jaune a quick wave and a small smile. The couple walked away With Jaune walking in the opposite direction. However, Jaune had a weird feeling and turned back around. He saw that they were still walking away, but Brandon's arm seemed to be a little tighter around Gwen's waist than when they were talking with him. Jaune stared at them for a little while longer. When nothing happened as they turned the corner he continued with his day.

 **At Shade's Gym:**

Jaune found himself in the gym of the school. He figured he should get a little bit of training in before school takes up most of his time again. Luckily he didn't mind if the stuff he was in would get a little sweaty. He was about to hop on a treadmill when a voice called out to him.

"Yo Jaune!"

Jaune looks to see a familiar looking blonde with her spear resting on her shoulder. Jaune waves at the girl and walks up to her. "Hey Dew," He greeted. "What's up?"

She had her spear resting on her shoulder while she wore the same outfit that she had during the Vytal festival. "Well I got done with some exercising and I was about to see if anyone would spar with me. Haven't found anyone yet and you just showed up so…" Jaune put his hand to his chin to think about it. True he hasn't really sparred with anyone in a while.

"What kind of sparring?" Jaune asked. Dew quirked an eyebrow and waved her spear slightly.

"Dude, I'm holding my weapon. Do the math." Oh, right. It has been a couple of days since Jaune picked up Crocea Mors. With classes starting tomorrow he would need to at least get used to swinging a sword around again. Jaune agreed to it and Dew did a tiny fist pump. "Thanks man. Grab your weapon and meet me in the arena." Jaune nodded and with that the two of them went off.

 **A few minutes later:**

Jaune walked into the arena with Crocea Mors strapped to his hip. The last time he was here he had to convince the teacher that he belonged at Shade. Now he's having a friendly sparring match with a friend that hated him before they went on initiation. Life's weird.

Jaune looked around to notice that he wasn't the only one in the arena. Various students from different years were fighting in the giant arena and Jaune even noticed some people in the bleachers. They were cheering for their friend, teammate, or whoever they thought would win a fight.

He looks around and notices a black haired girl who took a big hit from a brutish man was lying on the ground. The man had a big grin on his face and sheathed his longsword. However as he turned his back the girl hopped back up, took out a dagger and jumped the student's back. She then proceeded to stab his back, which was thankfully being protected by his aura, many times until he hit the red.

The girl hopped off the back of the student's and began to gloat to anyone who could hear her. She said things like she fought two fourth years row and won both times. Once she started to gloat Jaune tuned her out.

He looked around for his sparring partner and saw her leaning against the wall with a bored look on her face. Next to her was a male cat faunus, as the ears were a dead giveaway, trying to flirt with her. Jaune walked over to them and Dew noticed him. Jaune could see the relief on her face as he got closer.

"Come on cutie!" the cat faunus implored. "It's just one night out!"

Dew placed her hand on the cat faunus's chest and pushes him away. "I'll make it simple so you understand," she started. "I'd rather date a grimm than date you. So leave me alone you pathetic creep." If Jaune hadn't got to know Dew, he would've thought her an arrogant bitch. He learned that she was really only the latter, and it was only to people she disliked. "Now if you'll excuse me, my sparring partner is here and I'm done with this conversation." Dew stops leaning on the wall and walks over to Jaune a smile on her face. The cat Faunus sees Jaune and is astonished by the fact that Jaune is sparring with her. he rolls his eyes, accepting defeat and then continues with whatever it was he was doing. "Sup partner."

"Don't wanna bring your boyfriend with you?" Jaune joked. Dew elbowed Jaune at the joke causing him to groan a little bit. The two find an area that wasn't crowded with other trainers and stood about eight feet apart from each other. Dew twirls her spear in-between her fingers, as Jaune unsheathed his sword.

"Count of three?" Dew asked. Jaune nodded and put his sheath into shield from. "Okay, one…"

"Two…" Jaune continued. Just as they were about to say three, Jaune felt his scroll vibrate, along with the ringtone to it going off. "Wait wait hold on!" Dew quirked an eyebrow as Jaune put the sword in his shield and took out his scroll. She rolled her eyes at the fact that he just got a call as they were beginning. She knew it wasn't Jaune's fault, it was just the timing of it kind of ticked her off.

Jaune looked at the number and his pupils shrunk in horror. The caller's name was Ruby Rose. So many thoughts whirled through his head. " _How did she find this number? Do the others know? Was the scammer earlier part of it?"_

Jaune's change in behavior did not go unnoticed by Dew. Normally she would've shouted at him to put the phone away since he was wasting her time, but she saw fear in his eyes. No, not fear. There was a little bit of it, but not enough for it to be true fear. There was also a little bit of sadness in there as well.

"Everything all right Jaune?" Dew asked with a concerned voice. Jaune snapped out of his trance and looked back at Dew. He chuckles awkwardly as he messes with his scroll and pockets it again.

"Yeah! Yeah everything's fine." Jaune stretches his neck a little bit and unsheathed his sword again. "We ready?"

"I am, are you?" Jaune nodded his head. Dew gives him a skeptical look but shrugs it off. She ready's her spear and Jaune gets in a stance. Again, Jaune could feel his phone vibrate and he had to take every ounce of free will to not check it. "Okay, three, two , one…"

"Go!" Jaune yelled. Jaune's sudden yell surprised Dew, as well as how fast he was closing in on her. The next thing she knew she was plowed by his shield. She would have been sent flying, but she stuck her spear in the ground to use the friction to slow herself.

Dew let out a low growl as she looked back at Jaune. He used his shield to cover most of his torso, as if he was expecting a counter attack. She wouldn't disappoint him as she charged back, the blade of her spear pointed to the side. She closes the distance and then swings low. Jaune had to jump to avoid getting hit. He knew that staying in one spot was suicide so he tried to land his shield on the ground and tried to roll away. He succeeded but Dew was a lot faster at comboing her swings together because the minute he stood up he was stabbed in the chest twice.

Jaune stumbles but regains his balance. Dew went for a side swipe but Jaune blocked with his shield, and used his other forearm as a support on the shield. Dew's spear collides against the metal shield as a sharp ring echoed slightly. Jaune parried the spear, causing Dew to take a step forward to not lose her balance, but it was just enough to put her in striking distance of Jaune's sword. He moved his sword arm from the shield and swiped at Dew, just grazing her enough to cut down her aura.

Dew her spear into the ground next to Jaune. In one swift motion she jumped and used her spear as a pole and kicked Jaune in the face causing him to stumble back. She follows up by taking the spear out of the ground and then jabbing him with the blunt end of her spear. She finishes with a swing to Jaune's sword arm, hoping to jab him with one of her sharply pointed cross guards. Jaune was able to raise his sword just in time to block Dew's spear. Her cross guard was an inch from Jaune's neck, causing Jaune to instinctively suck it in to try and keep it away from the point.

He was so focused on the pointy cross guard that he didn't really notice that Dew was going to kick him until he felt her heel connect to his face. Dew followed the move by spinning her spear and then slashing at Jaune multiple times. Jaune recovers and tries a downward slash. Dew sidesteps out of the way and then brings her knee into Jaune's stomach. Jaune could feel his aura take a huge hit as Dew's knee continued to drive into his stomach. She stops and takes a step back, and then does another giant kick to his stomach causing Jaune a lot of pain. He could have sworn he was about to vomit up lunch.

Jaune gripped his stomach and began coughing like a seal. Dew stopped for a second and tok a look at him. "You good dude?" She asked as she stood about five feet from him. Jaune chokes out a little bit of spit and then rises. He wipes his mouth and nods.

"Yeah," he moaned out. He gulps down another wad of spit. "I'm good." Dew's eyes blinked. Well… he said he was good so she nodded her head.

"All right."

Dew grips the upper part of her staff and throws it at Jaune. He said he was good, that was enough for her to continue. Jaune was caught by surprise by this. Usually people let him recover when he took a big hit, and apparently Dew wasn't so forgiving.

Jaune ducked backwards to avoid the spear. Just as he tried to get back up he felt a large weight on him and he fell to the ground. He looks to see that Dew straddled him, a frenzied look on her face with her fist raised in the air. She gripped his shirt and then punched down on Jaune's face as hard as she could. She then rolled off of him and went to grab her spear. Jaune's vision was very blurry from the punch that he needed a moment to regain his vision. However he knew he didn't have a minute since Dew would be attacking him again soon.

He rolls over only to see Dew charging at him about to stab him with her spear. Dew stabbed down but Jaune rolled out of the way just enough for her to hit the ground. Jaune pushes himself back up and turns to Dew who just got her spear unstuck. His head was still slightly aching but he ignored it as he charged at Dew.

Dew got into a stable stance and then lunged at Jaune with the intent to stab. Jaune stopped charging and dodge out of the way, losing part of his balance in the process. Dew gained a small smile and hooked Jaune's leg with her cross guard of the spear. She sweeps it causing Jaune to hit the ground yet again.

Jaune was about to stand back up but Dew had her spear right at his throat. He looked up at her to see eyes that dared him to try something. Jaune sighed in defeat and let his head hit the ground. "I give…" he mumbled out. Dew grew a smug smile. She twirls her spear and then sheathes it behind her back. She offers Jaune a hand, which he gladly accepts as he hoisted back up.

"Good spar Jaune," Dew said patting his arm.

"For you maybe," Jaune said as he sheathed Crocea Mors. "The only hit I got on you was a surprise attack. Even then it wasn't a really good one." Jaune took a loot at him self and noticed a couple of cuts on his gear as clothing as well. He forgot that aura can protecting clothing occasionally, but not all the time.

"True…" Dew looked at Jaune with intese eyes. "Even so, you took those hits better than I thought you would have." Jaune looked at Dew with a confused look on his face. Dew smiles at him. "Jaune I don't go easy in spars. Ask my team I almost go all out on them half the time. When I stopped to check if you were all right, if you said you weren't I would have stopped then and there. From the look on your face and from what you were throwing up I could tell I hit you a little harder than I was supposed to.

"Instead of being a big sissy about like some of the guys here, you acted like it was nothing and wanted to continue." She playfully nudges him in the arm. "I can respect that man. Not to mention it made you look pretty tough." Jaune chuckled awkwardly and scratched the back of his head from the comment. He could feel a small blush coming on. "Still though, you are right. You need to start landing more hits. Until then combat class is going to be hell for you." Jaune nodded his head, taking in every word that Dew said. Like she just got done saying, if he had this much trouble with sparring, actual matches for combat class were going to be a nightmare.

"Well now that we're done sparring," Jaune said as he collapsed his shield back into sheath form. "I think I'll head back to the gym and workout some more."

"No you're not." Dew's tone wasn't commanding, but at the same time it didn't sound like she was taking no as an answer.

"What do you mean?"

"Dude, you've been working pretty hard since you got here." Dew put her hands up to make sure Jaune didn't take her the wrong way. "Not that there's anything wrong with that. Here's the thing…" She poked Jaune in the cheek where the bruise he got from the bar fight was. He let out a tiny "ow" and rubbed the spot she poked. "You got that from the fight yesterday," she poked just below his left eye, where another bruise lied. "You got that from the ambush two days ago," she then gestured to all of Jaune. "And you're still recovering from initiation. So, I am ordering you to veg out for the rest of the day."

Jaune wanted to argue, but actually had to admit that relaxing sounded kind of nice. After all, Jaune still hasn't used any of the common areas in the dorms, and hanging out there would be a nice change of pace besides laying down in his dorm playing on his scroll.

Jaune accepts Dew's order by saluting. "As you command your highness!" Dew gets a sudden blush of embarrassment as a couple of people noticed Jaune's nickname of her.

"Never say that nickname again!" She threatens with a point. Jaune hasn't seen Dew flustered like this before. If he was being honest, she looked pretty cute like that. Jaune buried that thought in the back of his mind and held his hands up. He nodded his head in understanding and Dew stepped away from him. "Anyway, I'll see you around yeah?"

"What are you going to do?" Dew placed a hand on her hip and placed a hand on her chin.

"Not sure. Probably just chill in my room for the rest of the day." Jaune nodded his head. With his curiosity sated. He waved goodbye to Dew.

"I'll see you around," Jaune said as they parted ways.

"See ya blondie." Jaune gave a small glare that was filled with jest, obviously from the nickname Dew gave him. Dew just gave a shrug with a small smile on her face. The two part ways. Jaune had to admit, Dew's really grown on him. She was the first person to insult him when he first arrived, and she made it no easy task for her to trust him. After initiation though, Jaune could see that she was just cautious.

He could tell from the way she was friendly towards him and her team that she is a caring person. That was poven after she literally commanded him to take a rest. She didn't have to do that, as she could have let Jaune work himself to death. She didn't though, and Jaune could tell it was because she was worried a little bit about him. Something must have happened though that made it so she is very distrustful of people she first meets. Of course Jaune's past didn't help with things. He couldn't blame her for the way she acted, and right now he was happy to have her as a friend.

* * *

As Jaune reached the common area on his floor, he began to remember why he didn't like hanging out around here. It wasn't the fact that people were around. Well it partly was but it wasn't them personally. It was Jaune. It's the same reason he thought he didn't belong at Shade in the first place. Self-worth.

Jaune looked at the group of students who gathered in the area and saw how happy all of them were. Some were watching TV, others were playing pool or eating. They were relaxing and enjoying life right now, and Jaune didn't want to ruin their days. Afte all no one wants to hang with the fraud of beacon right?

Yet, as he thought that, another couple of thoughts came back to him. It was the words of encouragement that BRNZ and NDGO shared with him. Even some of the words other students and teachers have told him.

" _You do belong here Jaune,"_

" _I would be proud to have him as one of my students,"_

" _Act like you belong and you will,"_

" _I like your moxie kid,"_

" _I sense a strong will and compassion those eyes of yours. No matter what, you will make a great Huntsman,"_

Every word of encouragement he got rang through his head. After everything he's been through, the fact that he can't even relax with a group of students was pathetic. If they don't want to accept Jaune, fine. He's not going to let a few idiots who know nothing about him persuade from hangin around the common area.

The fact that he was hyping himself up to relax was funny to Jaune. He chuckled silently. The blonde took a deep breath, and walked through the common noticed that some of the students saw him. Some glared at him while others shrugged his shoulders. He took his friend's advice and acted like he didn't notice or care.

He decided to watch some TV and walked over to the couches that took up part of the room. While all of the cushions were occupied, Jaune leaned on the back of one to watch what was on the TV. It was a game show where two families try to guess answers to a question that a hundred people answered. Jaune really liked this show since the host was very charismatic.

The next question came up and everyone watching listened closely. "Name a bad job for someone who is accident prone."

"Huntsman," one guy said.

"Police," another one continued.

"Butcher," a girl guessed.

"Doctor," another guy said.

"Chef," another girl guessed.

Everyone began to guess and while most of them were right, no one could figure out what the last one was. Jaune had to think about it and took a wild guess. "Window washer," Jaune said. one of the guys turned to him with a confused look on his face?

"How hard can window washing be?" he asked. Jaune noticed he didn't say it in a mean or nasty tone. He said it in a way that he was actually trying to understand Jaune's reasoning.

"I don't mean window washers who are on ground floor. I'm talking about the ones that are basically rappelling down and using the lifts to clean the windows."

"It makes sense," a girl agreed. "Not a bad answer."

While Jaune's answer didn't make the board (it was glass maker) the others did say it was a good guess. Jaune actually liked this. BRNZ and NDGO were right. Most of the students here were chill, despite some of them glaring at him. Still though, the fact that he can actually relax somewhere that wasn't in his dorm room was a pleasant feeling. So for the rest of the night, Jaune just joined in on the students playing the game.

That was until his scroll got another call.

 **To be continued.**

 **Beta Reader: TheShadowOfZama**


	26. Arc 2 Chapter 13

The question the game show asked was _"What kind of suit would not be appropriate for the office?"_ and the guy thought the host said soup and gave "chicken noodle" as an answer. Of course everyone was laughing like crazy. In the middle of laughing, Jaune felt his scroll vibrate and took it out. He noticed that someone was calling him and his heart sank a little when he remembered about the phone call earlier today. _"Please don't let it be them, please don't let it be them, please don't let it be them…"_ Jaune looked at the caller I.D.

Pyr, with a picture of said red head next to it.

" _Dammit."_

Jaune stood up and began to walk back to his dorm room. One of the students, whose name was Emilia, asked where he was going. Jaune came up with the excuse that he was getting tired as it was nine right now. A couple of guys teased him asking if he had a bed time or something. Jaune reminded them that classes were tomorrow and a couple of guys changed tunes. Some left to get some rest as well, while others just waved it off saying they would always get up in time no matter how late they stayed up.

With the excuse working, Jaune made his way back to his dorm, his scroll still ringing. When he finally reached his room the scroll stopped and Jaune let out a breath of relief. He was hoping that with this being the third time he ignored them they would get the message, on the other hand these were his old friends. They wouldn't give up that easily and he knew that.

Jaune took a deep breath and walked over to one of his beds. He held his scroll patiently in his shaking hands. He tried to calm down by taking deep steady breaths. He needed to make a decision when they called. Does he answer the phone and talk with them? Does he hang up on them the minute they call? Does he just say his part and then hang up? Does he change his scroll number again?

As these questions rolled through his head, and the minutes ticked by the scroll finally rung again. Jaune looked down at it. It still said "Pyr" and the picture of his old partner next to it. He glanced at the scroll for a second, and then took action.

* * *

NPR were in their dorm, with Pyrrha pacing around. Hours have passed since they called Jaune, and it was going on to two in the morning! Ever since then Pyrrha was racking her brain figuring out why Jaune wasn't picking up. Now that it was getting closer into the night, bags started to form under their eyes. She knew Jaune better than anyone and knew that he wouldn't just ignore a call unless he was in danger, or worst! Not to mention he wouldn't just flat out ignore them. She knew that he wanted to talk with them as much as they wanted to talk with him. At least, she thought so.

These thoughts kept running through Pyrrha's mind to the point it was driving Ren insane. "Pyrrha," He called in a sharp voice. "You need to sit down and relax." Pyrrha took a moment to stop and look at Ren. She shook her head and continued to pace.

"I can't Ren," Pyrrha replied. "We know Jaune's scroll number again and now he won't even answer it? He might be in trouble."

Ren could agree that Jaune was not one to let scrolls ring unless he had a very good reason to. Of course, he also had a small idea of why he wasn't picking up that he knew no one wanted to admit. Heck he didn't even want to! Yet they still had to accept it as a reason.

"Pyrrha, maybe there is a reason Jaune changed his scroll to begin with."

"Well duh!" Nora blurted. "He obviously did it so we wouldn't worry about him!" The two of them stare at Nora. Nora shrugged as they stared at her. "What? You told me that could be the main reason. Besides it seemed like something Jauney would do."

"Yeah well it only made me worry more," Pyrrha said as she wrapped her arms around herself. She looked at her scroll which was on the nightstand next to her bed. "I'm going to call him. Do you still remember the number Ren?" Ren nodded. "Can you tell me? I forgot it."

"No Pyrrha," Ren stated calmly. Pyrrha's left eye twitched as she picked up the scroll. She turned to Ren, a determined look in her eye.

"Ren, I am your leader. Now I am ordering you to give me the number!" Ren shook his head. Pyrrha was starting to get mad. "Why not?"

"Not until team RWBY is ready to call him."

"Why? So he can yell at them? So he can tell them that this was their fault? SO he can just rant on and on about them and then completely ignore us?" Ren and Nora looked at each other as Pyrrha continued to rant. They knew she would be like this. After all she _liked_ Jaune. She also still blames RWBY for what happened. Mix those two together and well… you get this. It didn't matter how much team RWBY apologized or felt bad, deep down Pyrrha would never forgive them. At the same time, three fourths of RWBY felt like they shouldn't be forgiven. At the very least, they could understand why Pyrrha would be mad at them.

Blake's cat ears twitched as she heard the arguing going on in NPR's room. She sighed solemnly, which didn't go unnoticed from her partner. "What's going on kitty cat?" Blake slightly frowned at the nickname. She decided to ignore it for now.

"Pyrrha's blaming us again." Blake looked down at her book with a somber expression. "Not that I blame her."

"We're not entirely to blame Blake," Yang said. Blake lookled at the blonde brawler and could tell she meant those words.

"Whether Pyrrha wants to admit it," Weiss started. "Jaune chose what he did. Now, us ignoring them didn't help, but it was his choice to leave the school."

"Still, I don't think Pyrrha wants to accept that," The cat Faunus said. Blake looked to see if Ruby was back. She said she was hungry so she was getting everybody some snacks and drinks to try and stay awake. When she wasn't she continued her thought. "Nor does Ruby." Blake took a deep breath. "Do you guys think we deserve to be forgiven?"

"Blake," Yang started. "If Ice queen can forgive you for being a terrorist, I think Vomit boy can forgive us for ignoring him." Weiss had to disagree with Yang on that. She had no idea what being ignored was like. Okay, maybe the fact that her mother left her gave her a clue, but it was much worst to be ignored by someone who you see almost every day. Weiss knew personally from her family how much that stung.

Weiss gave her two cents about it, yet Yang didn't waiver. "Guys, we can't just give up so easily! Trust me, when Jaune picks up, he'll be happy to talk to us and his team." Yang flashed them a grin, but they could tell right then and there it was a fake grin. Weiss could tell because she often had to put one on for her family, and Blake could tell from her days of reading people in the White Fang. Yang was trying to fake optimisms from this, whether for her sake, for Ruby's or for everyone's, who knows? Maybe that's all they needed.

Speaking of Ruby, the young leader walked in on her team conversing. However she had an awkward look on her face. "So uh… I see Pyrrha's upset again," Ruby said with a sheepish smile. "Maybe we should call Jaune again? I'm sure he's done with whatever it was he was doing." Yang smiled and ruffled her little sister's hair.

"All right Rubes, let's go." Ruby playfully swatted her sisters arms away.

"You know I hate it when you do that!" she said with puffed out cheeks. Yang pulled down on an eyelid and stuck her tongue out. Ruby did the same and the two sisters began to laugh at their antics. Weiss and Blake smiled at the two sisters, and followed them to the door across the hallway.

* * *

Pyrrha looked so mad that she would have thrown Ren through a wall if they weren't friends. Ren had been trying to calm Pyrrha down but accidently said that her feelings for Jaune were affecting her judgement. Naturally this made Pyrrha even angrier which led to her almost putting her fist through something.

Thankfully, there was a knock on the door that stopped Pyrrha from doing anything. She let out a low grunt and walked over to the door. As she did she replaced the angry, sour expression on her face with a pleasant one. Ren and Nora always get scared by the fact she can do that so naturally. She could kill somebody and act like she's never seen the person before.

She opens the door to reveal the source of some of her anger. She gives the team a soft smile. "Hello girls," Pyrrha greeted. "How can we help you?"

"We were thinking of calling Jaune again," Ruby said. "Mind if we come in?"

"Of course!" Pyrrha's anger was soon forgotten as Ren and Nora stood up, excited and nervous to see Jaune's response. As Ruby was taking out her scroll however, Pyrrha put her hand on Ruby's wrist. "Um… Ruby, mind if we try my scroll this time?"

"Sure Pyrrha," ruby said. However her curiosity compelled her to ask a question. "Why do you want to use your scroll though?" Nora and Ren looked to Pyrrha, wondering what her response will be.

"I figured he would be more likely to pick up if it was my scroll."

Ruby, being the socially awkward person she is, didn't notice the ice cold undertone in Pyrrha's voice. The rest of team RWBY noticed it, as did Ren and Nora. Ruby was going to ask why but Yang covered Ruby's mouth and gave a forced smile.

"All right P-Money, whatever you say," The blonde said. With everyone content with the plan, Ren types in the number on Pyrrha's scroll. Pyrrha puts the phone on speaker and they all wait for the rings.

However, just like this afternoon, the scroll rang five times again, followed by a voicemail. "Please leave your message for… 'Jaune Arc'"

Pyrrha's heart almost shattered. This was the third time Jaune didn't pick up his scroll. Could it be that Jaune had been so busy that he couldn't even talk with them? Or… could the fact that he was hospitalized from initiation, and then got into another big fight caused something more… permanent to happen?

"Guys…" Pyrrha whispered. Everyone listened closely as it sounded as if she was on the verge of tears. "What if Jaune had gotten a lot more hurt in the video than it looked?" Everyone looked a little confused at what Pyrrha was implying. Once tears started to roll down the champion's face, that was when they got the message. Between the small sobs Pyrrha choked out one more sentence. "What if he…" However she couldn't even finish the sentence.

To see Pyrrha break down was something no one expected. She always carried herself in a way that made her invincible both on and off the battle field. Now here she was, crying because Jaune wasn't answering a scroll. Ruby wanted to go over and comfort her friend, but someone beat her to it.

Nora walked over and cupped her hands over Pyrrha's. Pyrrha sniffed and looked at Nora, who had her normal wide grin. "It's Jaune," she said. "Our leader wouldn't ignore us unless he had a good reason to. Besides, Ren talked to him earlier today remember? He wouldn't kick the bucket that soon."

Nora's jokes made Pyrrha stop sobbing for a second. the red haired champion smiles and giggles lightly at Nora's attempt to cheer her up. She looks at the orange haired girl and smiled warmly. "Thank you Nora."

Everyone in the room stared at the two girls of NPR. Emotions were pouring everywhere from anxiety, sadness, and curiosity. Ruby walked forward and lightly touched Pyrrha's arm. She looked over at the younger red head who had a determined look on her face.

"I know we may not have been the best of friend leading up to Jaune's departure," Ruby said. The sentence made everyone kind of twitch out of nervousness, whether because it was a sensitive topic or because they were the ones they were talking about. "But I still like to think I know Jaune, and I agree with Nora."

Pyrrha looked around to see everyone giving some form of encouragement. Yang had a thumbs up, Blake and Ren gave curt nods, Weiss gave a small smile. Pyrrha smiled to all of her friends. She then looks down at the scroll. She takes a deep breath. "One more time…" She mumbled. She redialed the number and again put it on speaker phone.

One ring…

Two rings…

Three rings...

Four rings...

Five rings...

Again, voicemail.

Pyrrha hung up the phone, and silence began to fill the room. Hope for talking with Jaune again was starting to slink away. Someone needed to say something, anything, to try and make this situation better. Yang opened her mouth and was about to give some kind of speech when Pyrrha's phone buzzed with an incoming message. Her eyes widen when she saw who sent it.

"Guys... Jaune sent a text!"Pyrrha exclaimed. Surprised to hear this, everyone gathered around to see if they could read the text.

 _"Hey Pyr, sorry I haven't talked with you guys in a while. I can't really answer my phone anymore, at least from you guys. The continent calls are a little too expensive for me right now. So what's up?"_

They couldn't believe it, Jaune answered back! "What do I say?' Pyrrha asked everyone.

"Tell him we miss him!" Nora shouted.

"Tell him we're sorry!" Ruby objected.

"How did he get to Shade?" Weiss asked.

"Ask him if he needs help with anything at Shade," Ren stated.

As everyone gave their two bits, Pyrrha tried to thiunk of a way to put that all in a message. As she continued to think she thought she had a way to fit all of that in and began to write.

* * *

Jaune looked nervously at his scroll. He saw the three dots that told him that Pyrrha was replying. The blonde knight was hoping she would hate him for sending a text while she and the rest of his old team wanted to talk with him. He just... wasn't ready to talk with them. Not mentally or emotionally. Hopefully this will be a step in the right direction. Besides, it was about time he stopped running away from his problems, just like Dr. Leo said.

After a minute Pyrrha finally sent the message.

" _Hi Jaune! Sorry we didn't realize that they were bad times for us to call you. We were just so worried about you when we saw you in the news about your initiation."_ Jaune grew a tiny smile. he was happy that they were worried for him. As he read though, his happiness would change. " _We're glad you recovered from that, but when we saw you in that bar fight, and when you wouldn't answer, we thought you... succumbed to all of your wounds altogether."_ Jaune felt his eye twitch. Did... did they seriously think that he would survive the initiation he went through only to die to a bar fight? That irked Jaune for many reasons. " _Anyway, I'm sure that you've noticed Ruby and her team trying to connect with you as well. Well they really want to talk with you about some things so when you have a chance you wouldn't mind right?"_

Jaune just stared at his scroll for a minute thinking of a way to respond. Did RWBY want to reconcile? Part of him was happy to try and get his friend back. Unfortunately, it was overshadowed by his silent rage. They ignore him to the point of him thinking of suicide, and now that he's gone they feel the need to apologize now? Jaune let out an uneasy sigh as he typed his response.

* * *

" _I... actually do kind of mind. After I get used to Shade maybe I'll try and talk with them but right now i'm just a little too stressed out with the new school. So yeah if I don't talk with you for a while it's just because Shade's giving me a lot of stuff to do. But yeah right now I just... I can't talk with RWBY right now. Listen I'm heading to bed right now so I'll talk to you later. Maybe you should head to bed too, it's only nine over here but I'm pretty sure its like three or something over there. Send my love to Ren and Nora._

As Pyrrha read the text aloud, there were many different reactions throughout the room.

Ren and Nora were happy that Jaune was doing fine and sent his love to them. Ruby however was devastated. Jaune basically said he didn't want to talk with her and that shattered her a little bit.

"Pyrrha can you tell him that we really need to talk with him?" Ruby blurted out. She said that with such sadness that it made the rest of team RWBY's hearts break.

"Ruby," Weiss said as she put a hand on her partners shoulder. "Maybe we should get some rest."

"But I need to talk with Jaune! I need to say how sorry we are!" Ruby began to raise her voice. Yang grabbed Ruby's shoulders and stared her dead in the eyes.

"Ruby, this is something the rest of us feared would happen," She stated bluntly. Ruby looked at her team with a confused look on her face. When she saw that all of her team had forlorn looks on her faces, she realized what Yang meant.

"You mean you guys thought this would happen and didn't even tell me your opinions?!" Ruby was angry and heartbroken at the same time. She expected her team to express their opinions to her. Yet they all smiled and went along with it without even telling her what they truly thought?

At that moment Ruby stormed out of the room. "Ruby wait!" Yang was about to go after her but Blake put a hand on her shoulder. Yang's eyes turned red as she glared at her cat partner. "I need to talk to her!" Blake shook her head and weiss jumped in the conversation.

"Some alone time will give Ruby some time to think," Weiss said. "Lets just get some sleep, okay? It's been a long day for all of us."

Yang wanted to rebel. She wanted to go and comfort her sister, but right now sleep actually sounded kind of nice. Her eyes turn back to lilac and she turns to her team. "All right, but I'm staying awake until Ruby gets back."

"Fair enough," Blake said. The three members of RWBY turn to the three members of NPR to say good night. NPR returned the gesture, and with that the two teams split ways.

* * *

Part of Jaune felt a little bad for dodging RWBY, but at least he connected with Pyrrha, even if it was for a little bit. Still though, the fact that she thought that he would have died from the bar fight sat unwell with Jaune. Despite the uneasy feeling, he tried to get some rest to get ready for classes tomorrow. Unfortunately, his dreams will keep him from having a restful night.

 **To be continued**

 **Betareader: TheShadowOfZama**


	27. Arc 2 Chapter 14

"Ignoring Ruby and her team was necessary!" Jaune said to the other Jaune. Jaune A, who will be called Emotion, looked like Jaune in every aspect. The difference was that he was wearing a red version of his Pumpkin Pete hoodie, and was pacing around the room, hands curled into fists. He was pacing around his side of the room. "Not to mention Pyrrha thought we were weak! Out of all the time it took for us to get here, _now_ they get the courage to try and find our other scroll number? And for what?! Because they thought we died in a fucking bar fight!"

"Maybe the fact that they did that was because they were worried," the second Jaune said. This Jaune, who we'll call logic, had a yellow Pumpkin Pete hoodie, along with a pen sticking from his right ear. He sat calmly at the wooden table that was positioned in the middle of the room. One side of the room was messy with comics, weapons, and an unkempt bed on it. The other side was clean, had a wooden bookshelf, and was orderly.

"They weren't worried a month after we got kicked out!" Emotion yelled. "They found our scroll number so easily so what stopped them from calling earlier?"

"The fact that we just disappeared of the face of the Remnant is probably a good reason!" Logic slammed his hands on the table but stayed seated. "We made it known that we didn't want them to contact us and we stayed below the radar for the days we stayed hidden in Junior's bar! So it makes sense that they would be worried when they see us in the news after initiation!" Emotion glared at logic and opened his mouth to say something, but Logic put his hand in the air. "Not only that, how do we know it didn't take them the three days we sent here to try and find our number? Maybe they were arguing amongst each other about what to do."

Emotion couldn't argue. Logic usually wins these arguments. Emotion sighs and sits down at the table. "I'm sorry… I know you're right. I just think it's a bad time for us to deal with this right now."

"When will be a good time E?" Logic asked. Emotion threw his hands up in the air.

"I don't know! Maybe after we got used to Shade? Besides should we even talk with them again?"

"They are our friends." Logic glared intensely at his counterpart. "We shouldn't have ignored them in the first place."

"Our friends?" Emotion scoffed. "Was Ruby and her team our 'friend' when they ignored us? How about the fact that Pyrrha Ren and Nora didn't even see how close we were to ending it? Cardin was. _Cardin Winchester_ was the one who made sure we didn't do anything stupid."

"They knew!" Logic actually stood up in his chair and looked down on Emotion. "They but how were they supposed to approach us huh? 'Hey Jaune, we know you've been feeling depressed and we don't want you to commit suicide so buck up chum!' You would get angry at that!"

"No I wouldn't!" Emotion slammed down on the table and stood up. The two of them glared into each other's eyes, neither of them backing down. "I would be happy that they were worried, and then you would come in and say 'they were only doing it because they think you're weak' and like an idiot I would believe you! That would make us angry and do something stupid!"

The two entities stare at each other for what seemed to be hours. It was almost like whoever lost this staring match would lose their life. Both of them began to drip a little bit of sweat just from staring. Eventually Logic closed his eyes and gave in.

"Whether we want to admit it or not," he started as he sat down. "When I think of something you will always be a part of it, and when you react to something…"

"You will always be a part of it as well..." He finished. The two sigh as Emotion sat down. At least they came to an agreement. The two look at each other and say the same thing.

"So, what do we do next?"

Emotion leans forward. "Well maybe we should just focus on Shade," he said.

"Yeah," Logic said as he scratched the back of his head. "But what about Pyr Ren and Nora? Should we really cut them off?"

"I don't want to Lo. Still, we got some of Shade on our ass just for being here. The guy who attacked us and Malcolm are to name a few. Having them call us already threw us out of whack for today, imagine trying to do that for the rest of the year!" Logic hummed knowing that Emotion was right. Having to try and keep up with Pyr and the gang back at Beacon would be a hassle, especially now that he didn't have a team and was an operator.

"We should still keep some form of communication with them. Texting like this is sure to keep them satisfied until we're ready to actually talk with them."

"Yeah but how often are they going to be texting us? We'd rather not have to deal with these emotional issues in the middle of class." Logic chewed on his thumb nail.

"We need to think of something that makes it so we don't appear harsh…" Logic mumbled. He continued to chew his thumb as he thought of excuses. Emotion had a though of his own but… "Just say it E, I know when you're thinking about something."

Emotion looked at the ground. "What if we just tell her to leave us alone?" Logic looked at Emotion as if he was insane. He put up his hands to defend himself. "Not like the way I said it! Look we already said that Shade's been a little rough for us. So let's just say that the classes are a little harder and that us texting them will be sparse while we focus on school." Logic took a moment and nodded his head.

"All right, we'll try it your way. Speaking of Pyrrha… can I ask a question though?" Emotion quirked an eyebrow at Logic's question. Logic had a very tough one and didn't want to set off Emotion. "Did you notice how Dew kicked our ass in training today?"

"What about it?"

Logic swallowed the lump in his throat. "Why could we beat Pyrrha when she was going all out when we couldn't beat Dew in a regular sparring match?" Logic could see E's face change to anger.

"Don't you dare," Emotion warned his counterpart. "Don't you even suggest what I think you're suggesting. The only reason we lost was because we were sore, tired, and hadn't picked up Crocea Mors in a while."

"Even so, when we asked Pyr to go all out we could at least last a little bit. Now during a sparring match we had trouble against someone who lost in the first round of the festival!"

"Then we just have to work harder!" Emotion was yelling again. "Pyrrha did not go easy on us when we asked her to go all out. End of story!" Logic let out a small growl. When Emotion gets like this, nothing can calm him down. The only way to show him is for him to experience it. Fine, Logic will drop it for now. These two were not done discussing things, but for now, it was time for them to rest. The light in the room began to dim. Logic and Emotion slowly began to go to their beds. They said goodbye to each other, and closed their eyes.

 **Line Break**

Jaune heard his scroll alarm go off. The jingle had become annoying for him to hear, which sucked because he actually like it when he first heard it. Now it was just a reminder to leave the comfortable bed. Jaune groaned as the jingling echoed in his head. He knew he had to get up but wanted to savior as much bed time as he could. Unfortunately the last time he did that he was late to classes back at Beacon. Reluctantly, Jaune got up and out of bed.

Jaune saw that he only had forty five minutes until class started. That meant putting on a lot of deodorant, a quick breakfast of toast and a glass of whatever was in the common area fridge and heading to class.

As Jaune headed to the bathroom to brush his teeth and put on deodorant, he noticed the burn scar on his stomach again. He shakes his head and tries to ignore the sense of failure he felt, failure to defend himself and beat something as simple as a bandit leader. Jaune reminded himself that the scar he got was for protecting someone, and that was good enough for him.

When Jaune got dressed in his normal hoodie and jeans combo, he looked at his armor that was strewn about, along with Crocea Mors that was in sword and shield mode. He didn't really have a rocket locker so the only way to keep track of these things was to wear them. As Jaune straps the pieces of metal on him, he had to get used to the extra weight on him. Not to mention how it made some of his sore spots ache a little more. He switched Crocea Mors to sheath mode and then strapped it to his back. Jaune fought through any soreness he felt, grabbed his backpack full of school supplies, and tried to get on with the school day.

 **Line break**

Jaune entered Sarid's Dust class and took a look at the students who were in the room. Some of them were chatting with their teammates and friends, others were sharing notes, and Jaune swore he saw at least three people sleeping already.

Jaune was a little worried that he wouldn't know anyone in this class, but a saving grace snuck up behind him.

"Boo!" a familiar female voice startled. She gave Jaune a slight push which made him jump a little bit. He turns around with a frightened look on his face to see the smile of a purple haired leader. "Jeez you scare easily you know that?"

"It's a natural response to being scared!" Jaune blurted. He slightly pushes her in the arm. "Besides you tried to scare me!" Nebula innocently put her finger to her mouth and hummed. She and Jaune started walking to one of the desks as they continued their discussion.

"Did I purposely try to scare you? Yes, yes I did." Jaune gave her a glare. "In my defense though, you look really adorable when you're scared." Jaune's eyes widen as his cheeks turned pink. He lied down in his arms and mumbled.

"I'm not adorable. I'm manly as hell." Nebula giggled and playfully shook Jaune. Nebula took out her dust Textbook from her backpack and Jaune gave it a side glance. "Guess I'll have to ask Mr. Sarid for a textbook huh? Mind if I bum off you for today?"

Nebula gives a soft smile and slides her textbook over so Jaune could get a better look. She begins to explain some of the material that they have been going over for the first year. Most of it was pretty much the same over at Beacon just a couple of new stuff that Jaune didn't learn, such as "Introduction to Theory of Dust Creation," and then one that Nebula said they were starting, "Auras, Dust, and You."

As Nebula continued to explain the class, Jaune had a question that was bothering him. "Where is the rest of your team?"

"Miss Nyx made sure the teachers scheduled the students so they aren't with their team twenty-four-seven." Jaune had confused look on his face, so Nebula continued. "When I asked some of my teachers, in a nutshell they said it was so we don't just talk to our teams."

"Why wouldn't you want to talk with your teams?" Nebula waved her hand in a dismissive manner.

"It's not that they don't want us to talk with our team, they just want to make sure we don't _just_ talk to our team. Ya know?" Jaune scratched his head in slight confusion but luckily a nearby student clarified for him.

"Basically so you don't become a team of loners that only talk with each other." Nebula pointed at the student who helped her out.

"Yeah that," She said. Jaune nodded in understanding and the two got back to the textbook. Unfortunately the bell rang and Sarid walked out of his closet carrying a bunch of Dust vials and containers. Nebula leaned over to Jaune. "You said you met Mr. Sarid before this right?"

"Yeah don't worry the cyborg bits don't bother me." Nebula gave a thumbs up and the two continued with class.

Sarid carefully placed the dust vials on his desk and let out a heft sigh now that he didn't have explosives in his hand. "Hello class. I hope you all enjoyed the Vytal festival at Beacon this year despite the attack. I also hope all of you have been studying as well." A few snickers and shifting eyes gave Sarid an answer. "Uh huh, I thought so. Well then I guess we'll start of the semester with a little review." A couple of groans were heard and Sarid waved his finger at the class. "I don't want to hear it! Everyone open your textbooks to the "Auras, Dust, and You" chapter.

Luckily Nebula and Jaune already had the book open to that chapter so they just had to wait for further instructions. Once Sarid thought enough time passed he continued with the review. "Now then as we all know dust is used in everyday life," Sarid started. "It is used as fuel, used as bullets, and it can be used in its pure form. Now who can tell me why pure dust needs to be activated by Aura?"

One of the students raised their hands and Sarid pointed at them. "Dust is theorized to be a pure physical form of magic. In order to use said magic, it needs a small outburst of outside magic, or in our case aura."

"Excellent explanation Mr. Marston."

Jaune got a good look at the student who answered the question. From what Jaune saw he was wearing a blackish blue vest that looked like the arms had been ripped off. Underneath was a tan collared shirt. He was wearing what Jaune would call a "Cowboy hat" and had a small feather on its brim. Jaune couldn't see below the boy's waist so he had no idea what pants he was wearing. Jaune noticed a small satchel lay on the desk where he was sitting and Jaune assumed it was his.

Marston saw Jaune stare at him. Jaune gave a weak smile with an apologetic wave. Marston glared at Jaune for a few seconds then went back to the text book. For some reason Marston made Jaune nervous.

"Now why would we use Dust in its purest form?" This time Nebula raised her hand and Mr. Sarid pointed to her.

"It is when it's strongest I believe."

Sarid nodded his head. "Another correct answer. Glad to see all of you have been studying over the break." Some of the students, including Nebula, smiled at the compliment. "However to use dust in crystal form is high risk high reward as it can also hurt you if you do not have enough aura or cannot sustain its power." Sarid spent a few minutes talking about the crystal form of dust. Simple things like how careful they had to be to mine it, how powerful two inches of a dust can be compared to one inch and other things like that. After a while Sarid continued with the lecture.

"All right let's get to the nitty and gritty, theories around this subject."

Jaune leaned over and whispered to Nebula. "You guys talk a lot about unknown stuff around here don't ya?"

Nebula leaned over and answered. "Dust is still unusual ya know?" Jaune agreed with her with a nod and the two continued with class. Sarid explained how Dust could be fused into clothing, which was mainly used for aesthetic purposes, and infused with a body. He was the perfect example of the latter. Jaune also remembered a story Blake told him that she used dust to help her with her semblance, so he figured it could be used in other semblances as well.

Semblances… Jaune figured his out so the question is how should he train for it? Half the time it came naturally and the only time he had to summon it he had to try really hard to concentrate. Maybe he'll do it during combat class.

Jaune continued to jot down notes for the rest of class. There were some things he actually didn't learn at Beacon, like the fact that dust can be wrapped around a person if the controller wishes to do so at the price of burning away aura and possibly the body itself if held for too long. Another thing he learned was that Dust seems to lose its power once it leaves the atmosphere.

Sarid also gave some examples of how the dust can actually affect differently depending on what's used on it. For instance using some gravity dust from the same crystal on two things can make the two objects repel and attract to each other, the same way Roy uses his blade. Meanwhile, when it is used in ammo it sends the person who fired flying, instead of the person targeted. Sarid didn't show that he just remembered that from watching Ruby fight.

After an hour of lecturing, taking notes, demonstrations and small talk with Nebula the bell rang for the next class. "So what's your next class?" Jaune asked Nebula.

"I have science next," Nebula answered.

"Aw that sucks, I have history next." With their stuff packed Jaune and Nebula headed down to Sarid to grabs Jaune's textbook. "I was hoping we would still be in the same class."

"Yeah well that's all right, we'll have combat class together. After all first years have combat classes together." Jaune nodded his head as if to say "That's true." Jaune went to Sarid and asked for the class textbook. Sarid grabbed one for Jaune and handed to Jaune. The two students thanked the teacher and headed to their next class.

They eventually had to part ways as their classes were down different hallways. For a goodbye Nebula held her hand in the air and Jaune knew what she wanted. The two shared a high five and then went their separate ways. As Jaune walked to his class, he took a deep breath. From the first interaction with Ms. Camira, Jaune was not looking forward to learning history with the aged smoker.

 **Line break**

Jaune entered the classroom and instinctively looked at the students. This one seemed to have a bit of mixture of every year. He noticed that Ms. Camira was at her desk on her computer with a cigarette in her hand. Jaune's eyes then laid upon two students in particular. One was a red headed guy with a blue vest who had his feet up on the desk, and the other was a blonde girl that kicked his butt yesterday in sparring who was standing next to him.

Jaune walks up to his two friends with a small smile on his face. Nolan noticed Jaune and pointed to him. "Either I'm still drunk and hallucinating," Nolan said with a smirk. "Or I believe that Jaune Arc is in our class Dew!" The comment made Jaune shrink as if to hide from some prying eyes as Nolan was talking pretty loud. Jaune could feel his face flush with embarrassment. Jaune gave a weak wave.

"Hey guys," he said. He sat in the seat next to Nolan that wasn't occupied by Dew. "So is Nolan still hungover or…"

"Nah he's just an idiot," Dew answered with a shrug.

Nolan put his finger in the air and got the attention of the two blondes. "That's why you guys love me." Dew playfully slaps Nolan against the head. Nolan rubs where she slapped. "Ow! What was that for?"

"What? It's how I show love." The two shade students stick their tongues out at each other and Jaune lets out a chuckle. Nolan turns back to Jaune and gave hm a punch on the shoulder.

"Seriously though thanks for at least helping the hangovers a little bit," He told the blonde knight. Jaune nodded his head and had a grin on his face. He was about to welcome Nolan but the bell rang. Jaune noticed that everyone who was standing around and talking immediately got to their seat. Jaune couldn't blame them as Ms. Camira scared him when he met her.

Ms. Camira takes a long drag from the cancer stick and then put it out in an ashtray. She looks around the room and begins taking attendance. As she calls out the names, there is a commotion outside the room. Everyone turns to see a student burst through the door. Jaune's eyes shrunk in fear when he saw who it was.

"I'm sorry I'm late!" Malcolm said. He looked like he had ran a marathon. "My last class held me back for-"

"I don't care for your excuses Mr. Taurus," Ms. Camira said harshly. "Take your seat." Malcolm gulped and nodded his head. He rushed over to his desk and set his backpack on the desk and let out a big sigh. His friend greeted Malcolm and Malcolm gave a curt nod back. He then noticed Jaune staring at him. The two locks eyes for a minute. Malcolm glares and lets out a small growl, causing Jaune to turn his attention back to class. Just what he needed, one of the people who hated his gut the most in one of his classes.

Once Miss Camira was done with attendance, she stood up in class and began writing on the board. IN the middle of it she wrote "Bandit tribes." She then turned towards the class. "Now then," She started. "Who knows how long bandits have been around?"

A student raised her hand and answered. "As long as humans and Faunus have been around?"

"Correct, and who can tell me something that happened to Shade before the walls were built forty years ago?" Nolan raised his hand and Ms. Camira pointed to him.

"Bandit's razed the city."

Ms. Camira nodded her head. "The bandits liked the fact that they could mug anyone out in the desert, and when Shade got built we started cracking down on them. Of course that didn't sit well with them and well… the raze happened."

As Ms. Camira gave more details about the attack Jaune jotted down notes. The Bandit's attacked during the morning as they knew faunus guards could see at night and they had spies say that morning guards were groggy, lazy, and often showed up to shifts late. Most of the night guards would leave before someone filled their position causing a huge lack of defense. Fatal mistake.

With no walls and some innovation and stolen good from Atlas, not to mention the fact that bandit tribes began to work together, Shade had a lot of trouble repelling the attackers. Halfway through the fight grimm showed up and mad eit worst. The only good that came from that was they ate both citizens and bandits.

Through some miracle though, the citizens survived. Despite being somewhat modern, the exact details are funky. Some claim fire rained down from above because of a girl, others said Shade had a dust cache and let it loose, and some say it was the will of the gods. As to what truely happened, no one knows, but they repelled both grimm and bandits that day and rebuild Shade to what it is today.

No one needed to ask why they were studying this. With the attack on Vale it showed that there will always be people willingly enough and/or stupid enough to try these again. In the end it seems humanity always finds a way to bounce back.

The bandit lecture took the entire time as she explained the different resources each side had and how it contributed to the battle. When the bell rung students got out of their seats as per usual and get to their next class.

Jaune said goodbye to Nolan and Dew, the latter of whom said she'll see him at combat class, and they left while Jaune went to grab the textbook for the class. Ms. Camira was a little annoyed that Jaune forgot to mention it when he first came to see her, but shrugged it off and gave him the textbook.

With the second class done, Jaune went to his third class. However the real class he was excited for was his fourth one, Combat class. He wasn't sure what he would do, but for some reason he was filled with excitement.

 **To be continued.**

 **Beta Reader: TheShadowOfZama**


	28. Arc 2 chapter 15

The bell rang which signaled the end of third period. Jaune let out an exhausted and heavy sigh. Mr. Wolff's class was a little harder than he expected. Jaune learned a lot of new things but his brain felt a little fried. He looked forward to a five minute break.

As Jaune got the textbook from Mr. Wolff, he tried to remember what class he had next. He listed the classes he went through today he remembered that it was the class he was most excited and scared for: Combat class.

Jaune thanked Mr. Wolff, and began to head to the arena. As he was walking the hallway, he gripped Corcea Moor's hilt, which was strapped to his back. The last time he had used it was during Dew's spar and he didn't really do that well. That didn't bold well for today. Jaune took a deep breath and shook his head.

" _I got this,"_ he thought. " _It's just combat class. It's the place where I can prove to everyone that I can be a huntsman."_

As Jaune continued to hype himself up, he didn't realize that he was already walking into the arena. He looked around in the bleachers and noticed a lot of first year were already there. He saw NDGO chatting amongst themselves to his right. Nebula noticed him and gave a big wave to him. When the others of her team saw Jaune, they all waved at him. Dew gave a sly smile with a finger gun, Octavia gave a wave just like her leader, and Gwen gave a half of one but didn't look at him. Jaune grew a small smile and waved back. Unfortunately that would cause him a moment of embarrassment in a little bit.

"Mr. Arc!" Mr. Jett called out. Jaune looked over to the combat teacher. He was still wearing the scorpion pattern black robe with the long brown scarf that covered his lower face. He was also weraing the black jeans and combat boots. "You can flirt later we need to talk." Jaune went red in the face and he swore he heard Dew laugh like a maniac. He turns to NDGO to see that he was right, but Octavia was also giggling too. Nebula mouthed sorry while Gwen just looked down at the ground with a huge blush to match Jaune.

Jaune mumbled about how Mr. Jett shouldn't embaress his students as he walked over to him. "What was that?" Mr. Jett asked in a strict tone. Jaune shot up and shook his head.

"Nothing!"

"Good. Now then I still need to assign you a rocket locker. How often are you going to use it?" Jaune explained that he rarely used his locker back at Beacon as he felt a lot safer having Crocea Mors on him. "All right, well how about if you keep the locker in your room? A lot of the older years prefer to keep their lockers in their room so they can keep their weapons close to them instead of having to travel all the way down here for it."

"Wouldn't the locker make a giant hole in my roof, and the other floors?" This was often why they kept their lockers in the locker room back at Beacon. No point in putting holes in the floors of the school if they can avoid it. Besides the roof in the locker room opened up anytime a locker had to be launched out.

"Actually thanks to some of the computer guys work, the did some tweaking in the software so the lockers actually try to find the nearest window and break out of there. Cheaper to replace a window or two than a couple of concrete and wooden floors." Jaune had no idea if it was cheaper but he shrugged it off. Still though, he didn't know if he wanted to clean up glass shards every time he used the dang thing. When he told Mr. Jett this the brown skinned teacher nodded his head. "We're trying our best to find the ideal situation for the lockers. Ozpin keeps the lockers at Beacon in the room because he views that as best for the students. At the same time we know how much our students are paranoid about having their weapons and armor stolen so Belinda likes to experiment different ways. So far most of the students don't mind the cleanup with the locker in their room as they knew beforehand what would happen. So, you want to leave the locker here or in your room?"

Jaune took a minute to think about the pros and cons. Leaving the locker in the locker room seemed to be good idea. It's what he was most accustomed to so he would be more familiar with it. Besides he didn't mind carrying Corcea Mors around. At the same time, having the locker in his room would be easier to get to if he needed to get to it quickly. After all he would most likely be spending his time _in_ his dorm so all he would have to do is grab and go.

You know what, new school... new methods.

"I think I'll try having the locker in my room," Jaune said as he gave Mr. Jett a smile. He put his finger up. "However, can I change it back to the locker room later if I want to?"

"Of course," Mr. Jett responded. "You sure you want it in your room?" Jaune gave a firm nod. "All right come to me after your classes are done. OH, and get some friends to help you move it." Jaune nodded his head and headed to the bleachers.

When he got up there he made his way over to NDGO. When they saw him Dew had a big grin on her face. "Sup Flirt master?" She jested. "Make any new girlfriends on your way here?"

"Can we not talk about that please?" Jaune said covering his now reddening face.

"I think it's the perfect time to talk about it!" Octavia butted in. "Tell me, where did you learn such sick flirting skills?"

"That's it I'm ignoring you guys."

"Will you idiots stop?" Nebula said. "Sorry for embarrassing you Jaune." Jaune waved his hand at the all-female team.

"Don't worry about it. After all I grew up with seven sisters it will take more than that to annoy me."

As the team and Jaune continued to chat the bell eventually rang for the start of class. When it did Mr. Jett walked out into the arena and got everyone's attention… by shooting a pistol in the air. Multiple times.

After everyone's initial scare they all look into the arena where Mr. Jett. Was. He took out the magazine of his pistol and loaded another one in and pulled the slide of his handgun back. "Good, now that all of you have shut up," he started as he holstered the gun. "We can get on with class." He began pacing around the arena. "I am going to do one on one's today as a warm up for coming back from the vacation all of you had. I need volunteers. If I don't have any then I will force you to participate understand?"

"Yes sir!" the arena echoed as the students answered. Jaune was impressed. To command such attention and reaction it made him wonder… how strong is Mr. Jett?

"So who will be the first victims?"

Jaune immediately raised his hand, but then felt one grab his wrist and yank it down. This did not go unnoticed by Mr. Jett. Jaune turned and looked to see Nebula shaking her head no. "You're still recovering," She whispered.

"Hey I took Dew's advice yesterday and rested I'm fine," Jaune said as he tried to raise his hand again. Nebula gripped it again and kept it down and Jaune tried to pull away from her. Unfortunetly for him Dew was on the same page as her leader and tried to keep his arms pinned down.

"Yo dumbass," She insulted. "When I meant rest I meant for a few days not for a few hours."

"Girls leave him be," Octavia said, although she wasn't really trying to stop them as she had her feet up and looked like she was enjoying watching her teammates and Jaune struggle. "If he wants to get himself killed let him. It'll be funny to watch."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Jaune hissed. Octavia just shrug with a grin on her face as Dew and Nebula tried to keep Jaune from raising his hand.

"Will you guys stop?!" Gwen whispered harshly. She tried to make herself smaller as to not to get noticed but her team and Jaune still ended up with people looking over to them, which made her anxiety worsen a bit. "We're going to get-" She is gut off by a gunshot going off and then something fast and small hitting near their seats. The three who were fighting all stopped in their tracks while Gwen and Octavia slid away from them.

Nebula had both of Jaune's arms to his side while Dew was hugging his shoulders to make it so he couldn't raise them. Meanwhile Jaune had his foot underneath Nebula as if he was trying to kick her off. Some of the students all look at Mr. Jett who had a furious look on his face. Meanwhile a bunch of the other first years were trying to stifle their laughter.

"Not even the first ten minutes and you are already causing problems Mr. Arc."

"I just… I uh, I didn't mean I…" Jaune got Nebula and Dew off of him and sat up straight. He looked shamefully at the ground "Sorry…"

"And as for you two," he pointed his pistol to Dew and Nebula. "I expected more from two people who have been here for almost a year now. Especially since one of you is a leader."

"Sir I was just making sure Jaune wouldn't hurt himself!"

"I don't care!" Mr. Jett's voice grew into a yell. Mr. Jett holsters his pistol and then crosses his arms. "Miss Violette, you are a team leader stop acting impulsively! I can respect you wanting to protect your friend but the fact you disrupted my class cannot go without punishment. I wasn't going to let Mr. Arc fight one on one due to his injuries, so you made a scene for no reason!"

He pointed his pointer finger up and said in a low tone, "In the real world, that can get you or your friends killed." He lets his words settle in and Jaune could see how much effect it had on not only team NDGO, but everyone in the room. People were whispering to their team and friends, and they all seemed a little on edge. Not that he could blame them, Mr. Jett's words cut like a hot knife through butter.

"A demonstration is in order." Jaune could see Nebula flinch but she nodded her head. As she took her crossbow off her back though, Mr. Jett yelled again. "No! You will not be fighting." He then pointed to the raven haired girl on Nebula's team. "Miss Darcy, you will be fighting." Gwen's eyes looked scared as he called her name.

"This is unfair!" Nebula shouted. "Dew and I were the ones causing trouble so one of us should-"

"Like it or not your actions have consequences Miss Violette!" Mr. Jett cut her off with his harsh rough voice. "Sometimes those consequences end up affecting someone who wasn't even involved to begin with. Yet they will have to face them. This is the burden of a leader, and I had hoped you would have learned this by now."

Nebula wanted to rebel, but deep down she knew that Mr. Jett was right. She sits down and looks at the ground. Jaune could see tears starting to form out of the corners of her eyes. She may have gotten use to being yelled at for her mistakes, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt. He scoots over to her and places a hand on her shoulder. She sniffs and looks over to see him giving her a sympathetic look.

"I know the feeling," he said giving a warm smile. "Trust me it sucks now, but you can only grow right?" She wipes her eyes and gives a nod. Meanwhile, Mr. Jett called Gwen down to the arena again.

Gwen slowly stood up, but Jaune could tell that she was shaking. Her eyes began to dart round as if looking at every single student, and they were all looking right back at her. The raven haired girl's breathing began to increase rapidly. She looked as if she was going to have a panic attack.

Gwen felt someone lightly tap her on her shoulder. She flinched and turned to see Octavia giving her a nod. "Take a deep breath Gwen," the red head whispered. "Breath." Gwen did as she was told and closed her eyes. The nervous girl seemed to be calming down. When she opened her eyes again she saw Octavia giving her a confident smile. "You got this girl. Go get 'em."

Gwen gave a nod and hopped over the stands that separate the arena from the bleachers. Everyone could see that Mr. Jett had calmed down a little. He rubbed his face in annoyance. As he took deep breaths he finally got moving on with class.

"Now then, since I am no longer in the mood for volunteers, I will be selecting the next fighter…" As Mr. Jett looked around the classroom for a minute, he found the next person for the fight. "Miss Tucker you are up."

"What?!" a familiar voice yells. Jaune looked around until he found who Mr. Jett was talking about. It was the same girl he heard boasting about how she defeated fourth years with his spar with Dew. She had slightly tanned skin and was wearing a bright green unzipped hoodie with black leggings and shirt. Her blonde hair was cut short that you could mistake her for a guy at first glance.

"I have to fight little miss shy and quiet out of any of them?! She wouldn't even put up a fight!"

"Miss Tucker…" Mr. Jett warned. However her anger kept her in a fit.

"Can't I at least fight Nebula or someone who will actually be worth a damn to fight?" Jaune could feel his hands turn into fists. Despite not being the best of friends with Gwen the fact that this girl was insulting her for her combat skills spoke to Jaune to a personal level. He looked over to the rest of team NDGO and he could tell they were _pissed._ All of them had this look on their face that screamed "I'm going to rip that bitch apart." Jaune couldn't blame them. He could only imagine how his own team felt when Cardin insulted his combat skills.

To be fair though, Cardin was right about Jaune to a degree. For Gwen though? Despite being shy, when push came to shove he can tell that she was tough enough to handle it. After all she handled herself well during the initiation.

"ENOUGH!" Jaune was broken from thoughts when he heard Mr. Jett yell again. "I have had enough of everyone's complaining!" He pointed to the girl who was complaining. "Maria you are getting in here and fighting, end of story! But since you seem to be _so_ good at fighting let's see how you do two on one." Maria looked like she was about to argue but Mr. Jett cut her off. "Shut up and get ready. You dug your own grave for this." Mr. Jett took a deep breath to calm himself. Jaune noticed Maria was grumbling to herself but still was walking toward the arena.

Mr. Jett called Jaune to get his attention. "Jaune, you were among the first to raise your hand. Are you sure you want fight despite your injuries?" Jaune nodded his head. "Then congratulations you are on Gwen's team for this match." Mr. Jett knew NDGO would object to this insisting one of them should go, so he raised his hand towards them. "You will not always fight side by side with your team NDGO, this will get Gwen used to it. I don't want to hear your complaints."

Jaune could see NDGO was annoyed but they kept quiet not wanting to get into any more trouble. Trouble gave them a reassuring nod, unsure if it would help them, and then hopped over the barrier. He could feel the eyes of every student on him. This was the making or breaking point for Jaune. Initiation was the start of this journey, and now this was another test.

He walked up to Gwen and gave a small smile. "Are you ready?" he asked her. She took out two knives, one for each hand, and gave a small nod. Jaune gave nod back and then turned to Mr. Jett.

"Are both sides ready?" Mr. Jett asked.

"As always," Maria stated. She gripped the two handles that were strabbed to her back and unsheathed them, revealing two war axes."This will be a piece of cake." Jaune let out a small growl at her arrogance. People like her always ticked Jaune off. Congrats you can beat someone up, don't let it get to your head. When they do, their fall will be painful and hard. Right now, Jaune wanted to be the person to make her fall.

The blonde shook his head. Where did that thought come from? Even when fighting Cardin, he wanted to beat him to prove that he was getting stronger and to protect his friends, not to embarrass the guy. So why was she any different? She has his ego, and presumable his ability to beat him in a fight.

"Are you two ready?" Jaune was removed from his thoughts by Mr. Jett calling out. He shakes his head and takes out Crocea Mors and puts it in sword and shield mode.

"Yeah," Jaune answered. He looked back at Gwen who gave him another nod. "Yeah we're ready."

"All right then…" The teacher pauses for a moment. Jaune tenses up, readying his mind and body for battle. "Begin!"

Maria starts off by throwing both of her axes at jaune and Gwen respectively. Both sidestep out of the way to avoid getting hit. However they kept their eyes on the weapons they didn't realize their wielder was charging for both of them. Just as they turned to face her, Jaune felt a punch to his stomach causing him to lose his breath. He then felt her drag his arm, and essentially him, to move him into a position. She then kicked Jaune into Gwen, who barely had time to react, causing both of them to fall to the ground.

Maria left the two of them to struggle as she ran over to her axes, which lodged themselves into the wall. Jaune rolls over off of Gwen and shakes his head. He stands up and then offers Gwen a hand, but she gets up on her own. Jaune would've asked what was wrong if they weren't in the middle of a fight.

They turn to see her charging at them again. Maria jumped up in the air and let out a yell. She was going to slam her axes down on Jaune from what Jaune could tell. He rose his shield to protect himself, but it also blinded himself doing so. Maria took this chance to land swiftly on his shield and then launch herself off.

Jaune didn't realize what she did until he saw her launch at Gwen and by then it was too late. Gwen scrambled to throw one of her knives at her but just as she was about to let go she was kicked in the face. The knife drops to the ground and Maria unleashes a flurry of attacks on Gwen.

Maria attacked Gwen with brutal jabs and pokes from the end of her axes. She then kicked Gwen again but caught Gwen's foot with the beard of her axe causing Gwen to fall. Just as she raised it to slice down on Gwen, Jaune sprinted behind her and blocked her axe with his blade by placing it underneath the beard. He then used his shield to bash into her back, causing Maria to let out a loud grunt.

The force of the shield caused Maria to fall backwards. Jaune took this opportunity to stand over Maria and to swing down on her. However as he slashed, Maria blocked it by crossing her axes. As the two struggle for superiority, Jaune can see in her brown eyes that she is determined. So determined that she kicked Jaune in the nads.

Jaune let out a girly scream and gripped his spot. Maria got a leg under him and kicked him, causing him to fall over. Maria tried getting up but then Gwen got on top of her and then tried to stab down on her with one of her knives. She succeeded in slicing down Maria's aura a bit, but the axe wielding blonde dropped her weapon and then grabbed Gwen's neck. She then punched the knife wielder's face a few times. When Gwen was stunned from the punches, Maria nicked some of her pockets knives, and jabbed one right into her arm.

While her aura blocked it, it was still draining Gwen's aura, so she slapped the axe user's hand away and got off of her. She then started planting her knives in the ground by throwing them. When Maria got back up she grabbed her axes and charged at Gwen. The black haired girl gave a smirk and then triggered her knives, causing them to create a shock trap that stunned Maria.

As the two ladies kept their back and forth going, Jaune was slowly recovering from the kick to the nads. He slowly stood up and fought through the pain and tried his best to let his aura do the work. When he was able to stand up he took a look to see where the two were fighting. When he saw them he charged in to help. Unfortunately Maria saw the blonde in the corner of her eye.

She took one of the knives she stole off of Gwen and then chucked it at Jaune. Unfortunately it hit the knight in his stomach causing him to lose more aura. When he tried to get in the fray, Maria again used one of Gwen's knives to keep him at bay. This time Jaune dodged the knife causing Maria to let out an annoyed grunt. She punched and pushed Gwen off of her and then kicked Jaune in the face when he was close enough. She did the "come get me" taunt, causing Jaune to get angry.

Jaune let out a roar as he charged, blade ready for a lunging stab. However, once Jaune lunged Maria stepped out of the way. Jaune missed her, but hit Gwen, who also tried charging at Maria. During the confusion Maria grabs both of their heads and slams them together causing the two of them to let out grunts of pain.

Maria takes her axes and begins attacking Jaune now. She starts with a flurry of blows to his shield but then tries to trip Jaune by using her Axes. Jaune's leg gets caught and he falls to the ground. Maria raises her axe and slams down but Jaune rolls to avoid getting hit. The force from Maria's axes cause part of the floor to be chipped out. She was about to attack Jaune again but she felt three sharp pains attack her back, followed by three small explosions. Gwen continued to throw her knives over at Maria, who began to run to Gwen. Jaune gets back up and shakes his head. He growls and begins running toward them.

Maria was within range of Gwen and began to chop at her to wear down Gwen's aura. She slashes both of her axes outwards on Gwen's stomach, causing the black haired girl to bend over. She then crosses her axes on the back of Gwen's neck and drives her knee into her face. Gwen stumbles back and tries to recover. Meanwhile Maria was about to attack again but Jaune came up from behind her and began to choke her.

He put his sword back into his shield and turned it to sheath mode to try and knock Maria out without hurting her. Jaune realized that Maria was pretty tall for a girl. He'd have to assume she was at least 5'10. Gwen recovered and saw how Maria was struggling to get free and took this chance. With Jaune still holding onto her, Gwen took out three knives in both of her hands to give her small claws and began to stab Maria repeatedly. With the tag team attack working, they dropped Maria's aura down quite a lot.

Maria had enough and kicked Gwen away from her. After taking moment to recover she then elbowed Jaune in the ribs causing the blonde to let go. She trips Jaune again and moves fast enough to slam him down into the ground while he was still in the air. Gwen comes up and jumps on Maria and begins stabbing her again but Maria grab's Gwen's head and then slams her into the ground.

The two of them get back up and see Maria glaring furiously at them. All of them were breathing heavily from the fight, and they needed a break. SO, Gwen took out four of her knives and then threw them into the ground. A second later they detonated, causing smoke to fill the entire arena.

Jaune coughed from the smoke and he couldn't see anything. He could hear both Gwen and Maria coughing as well. What he needed to do was to grab Gwen and keep them away from Maria so they could come up with a plan.

All of a sudden Jaune felt his head hurt again. His vision began to shift colors until it was green. When it did, he could see through the smoke, but he was still coughing from it. He looked around and saw Gwen's figure and ran towards it. He grabbed her wrist causing Gwen to let out a tiny yelp. That was enough for Maria to guess their location as a second later an axe went whizzing pass both of them.

Jaune leaned closer to Gwen. "Sorry Gwen but stay quiet okay?" Before Gwen could answer Jaune began pulling her away from Maria, who was cussing the two of them out.

When Jaune saw that they were as far away from the axe maniac as possible, he let go of Gwen's wrist. While they were still in the smoke, the two of them were close enough to see each other and listen to each other.

"Gwen, are you okay?" was the first thing Jaune asked. Despite tasking a couple of hits, Gwen nodded her head. "Good. Look we won't have a lot of time but right now I think we need to take a few moments to come up with a plan. Are you okay with that?" Gwen thought about it for a second but nodded her head. "Cool. Now how long do your smoke knives last?"

"Um.. a-about two minutes," Gwen stuttered.

"How many more do you have left?" Gwne counted the knives she had. While it wasn't a lot it was still enough for them to keep talking. "All right, when the smoke dies down keep throwing them to keep the smoke screen up. I have an idea."

 **To be continued.**


	29. Arc 2 Chapter 16

Maria continued to cough as she tried to clear the smoke away. Not only had she lost her two opponents, she could also barely breath since the smoke kept getting swept up into her throat. She waved her hands around to try and clear it away but the smoke just kept getting thicker and thicker.

She tried walking out of it but no matter where she went smoke was always in the way. She let out a low guttural growl. "You fucking cowards!" She yelled. She coughed harshly and put her green sleeve to her mouth. She takes a deep breath. "Fight me like real Huntsmen! Quit using this smoke screen and face your beating!"

Maria lets out another fit of coughs. As she was in the middle of it she all of a sudden felt someone grab the hood of her green sweatshirt. She then felt a knee go right into her face. Thankfully she put her aura up just in time to absorb most of the damage down. The person drops her hood and she looks up to see that it was Jaune who was fleeing back into the smoke. Maria stood up and chucked her axe into the direction she saw Jaune run. There was the sound of the axe hitting something, followed by Jaune letting out a yelp. Maria grew a wicked grin and rushed over to where she threw her axe. However she didn't see Jaune anywhere on the ground, but she saw her axe.

She was confused at first but didn't have time to think as it could be a trap. She grabbed her axe, which unfortunately is what caused the trap to go off. As she picked it up she didn't see the small knives planted around it until it was too late. A violent shock was sent through Maria and she lets out a pained yell. The electricity stops her movement as it tenses her muscles to the point of them twitching. She wraps herself in her aura, expecting an attack from anywhere. She then felt three tiny picks in her aura from behind her, followed by three explosions.

While the explosion did damage to her aura, it also cleared some of the smoke making it easier for her to see. The explosion also disarmed the electric trap that was set. Maria turned around to see Jaune reaching next to his belt for more knives to throw. Maria responded by shoulder charging Jaune back into the smoke. Due to the adrenaline in her system she didn't think things through and followed him in there.

She didn't realize her mistake until after she continued to run in the smoke for about a minute. She lets out a giant yell as she realized her mistake. She zips up her sweatshirt and makes it cover her mouth to try and stop breathing in the smoke. She looks around trying to find one of the two people she is tryin fight but to no avail.

She feels two pricks come from her right side and turns to find nothing there. She then saw two more knives hit her but due to the smoke blocking her vision she couldn't react in time to block them. She covers herself with her axes to prevent more knives from flying at her. However a greenish glow comes from her right and she turns to see what looked to be two bright green eyes getting closer. She uses her axes to cover herself from the green eyes, not sure what would be attacking her, only to reveal that it's Jaune.

She blocked his sword by crossing her axes. The two have a power struggle which ends with her winning by pushing the sword away from her and then slashing at his abdomen, causing a massive dip in his aura. Jaune gripped his stomach but got in a defensive stance. Maria tried to chop down on Jaune but he raised his shield up to block the attack. Maria let out a chuckle.

"Ya know if you're going to try and sneak up on me you could at least lose the glowing eyes!" Jaune's eyes widen when she said that.

" _My eyes glow?_ " he thought. He made a mental note to remember that little detail. Jaune's eyes switched back to their regular ocean blue and continued with the fight. He drops a little so he could reach under his shield and punch Maria in the stomach. Maria is caught off guard which causes her to weaken her strength on Jaune's shield. Jaune used this opportunity to kick her in the stomach causing her to go backward. Jaune retreats back into the fog but it was slowly disappearing making it so he'll have to change tactics.

As Jaune maneuvered through the grey smoke, he took a look at his aura. He had about thirty eight percent left. If he reached lower than thirty then he was out. What surprised him was how much aura his semblance would cost him. He was at fifty when Gwen released the smoke bomb. Maria's attack couldn't have done that much damage.

Jaune also looked at Gwen and Maria's aura. Maria was still at forty eight percent, while Gwen was at forty. This is a close match but he can't let his guard down. So far their plan was working. The idea Jaune came up with was to borrow some knives from Gwen and do hit and run attacks on Maria while Gwen used the sounds of them fighting to throw the knives in the general direction. With the knives flying everywhere Maria wouldn't be able to pin point where the two of them were in the smoke. However Jaune knew this wouldn't last forever, which is why he was trusting Gwen with another task.

Jaune activated his green eyes again and looked around for Maria and Gwen. Gwen was still planting the knives. Meanwhile Maria was looking around for Jaune. Eventually she turned her head towards him and began charging. He turns his eyes back to their normal blue. So the glow was real.

He raises his shield and Maria bashed into it, causing Jaune to take a few steps back. He quickly took one of the explosion knives from his belt and tossed them at Maria as fast as he could. Unfortunately for him she side stepped out of the way of them. She used her momentum to continue spinning but had her axes facing out to try and hit Jaune with slashes. Jaune kept his shield up as Maria came closer and her spin attack slashed at Jaune's shield. She then hooked the axes onto Jaune's shield. This caught Jaune by surprise as she yanked him forward.

Jaune takes a few steps forward before he is met with a knee to the gut. He chokes out a little bit of blood and is sent flying. As he did the force from him flying cleared some of the smoke away. Jaune feels his back hit a solid wall causing him to let out a moan. He falls to the ground and feels sore. All of his muscles scream in pain, telling him to stay down and call it. However Jaune's will is stronger than the pain he was feeling. He can barely move, and yet he slowly tries to stand back up. Just as he got one knee off the ground Maria pinned him to the wall with both of her axes by slamming him into the wall and pointing the sharp ends at his neck. She lets out a smug chuckle.

"Should have stayed down fraud," she hissed. Jaune stares her down with anger in his eyes. He had enough of being called that. Nobody cared about his initiation and only saw him as a fraud. Ignore the fact that he burned down a bandit camp, he's still the Beacon fraud. All of that pent up anger came out in two harsh words directed at Maria.

"Fuck you."

Maria let out a laugh. "That's the spirit!" she kept Jaune pinned with her forearm as she raised her right axe to finish Jaune off. However, just as she was about to swing down, it seemed as if she couldn't. Maria turned to her right but is then pushed back by some unknown force. All of a sudden Jaune saw knives appear out of thin air and somehow attached themselves to Maria. They are then followed by air whooshing from the knives sending her flying away.

Jaune looked around and then sees Gwen appear out of thin air. She goes over to him and helps him stand up. "Are you okay?" she asked with concern. No, he wasn't. His muscles were barely holding him up, his vision was getting darker and he swore he could pass out at any second.

"I'm fine…" he huffed. "How's the… trap?"

"I got it all set up but Jaune I think you should…"

"Activate it when we are in position. Stay out of sight, I think the smoke's almost cleared up." Gwen wanted to protest but knew that arguing with Jaune would go nowhere. She nodded her head and began to retreat, but not before giving Jaune another concerned look. He waved her away, and she reluctantly did as she was told.

The smoke finally cleared and Maria was trying to remove the wind knives from her clothing. When she removed and tossed the last one, she saw Gwen running somewhere and targeted her. Jaune saw this and took off running after Maria.

Jaune ran as fast as he could. It was barely above a jog, and it felt as if every step would be his last due to the amount of pain he was in. His muscles tensed with every step. He realized that he wouldn't be able to reach Maria in time to stop her from attack Gwen. So he took out the last few knives Gwen gave him and tossed them in front of Maria. She was too bloodthirsty to notice them before they struck her side. She let out a tiny yell as she dropped to one knee and took them out and threw them away. She turned to Jaune and began charging at him.

Jaune was glad that she was targeting him. Now all he had to do was get her in position. Fortunetly she was smack dab in the middle of the rap. Unfortunately She sprinted at Jaune and he knew she would run out of the trap's area of effect. So he unstrapped his shield and threw it as hard as he could at her. She ducked under it and continued to sprint at Jaune.

Jaune knew if he took another hit to his aura he would lose, so he had to make his next moves precise. Maria let out a roar as she ran at Jaune. She lifted her axes up high and slammed it down when Jaune was near enough to be hit by it. However he dodged at the last second. She tries to swing at Jaune again but he blocks with his sword. Jaune noticed that both of the beards of Maria's axes were locked with his blade. He decided that this would be the best time to disarm her. he lifts his foot and kicks Maria in the stomach, and yanks his sword away from her, along with her axes. She is too focused on the pain in her stomach that she lets go of the handles of her axes and covers her stomach. Jaune drops his sword and charges at her. He then wraps his left arm around Maria's waist while grips his right hand on her face. He uses his thumb to apply pressure to her nose. It was apresusre point he learned from his eldest sister Erica. The pressure is causing her to lean back as he continued to run back into the middle of the arena.

Maria wouldn't give Jaune full control. As she was being pushed backward, she made her right hand into a fist and then tried to target Jaune in the stomach. Jaune saw this and knew he couldn't dodge it, nor could he use his aura to block it otherwise he would be eliminated.

So he flexes his stomach and takes the fist with full force.

Jaune could feel a huge wad of vomit go from his stomach to his mouth but he kept pushing her. Eventually he saw that he passed a row of Knives that had yellow electricity sparking out of them. That was when he finally tackled Maria to the ground. Maria tries to get Jaune off of her but he straddles her and tries to pound her into the ground. She revers Jaune so that he is on the ground as she straddles him. Maria grabs Jaune's neck and begins punching him in the face. Again, he takes it full force, with no aura to protect him.

"NOW!" he yelled.

Gwen appeared from thin air again and pressed a button on her combat skirt. Maria stopped beating Jaune and tried to get her surroundings, only to realize she was in a ring of shock knives, and the sparks were headed straight toward them. Jaune wrapped himself in his aura and then grabbed Maria's head. Her eyes widen in shock as she realized she was trapped, and as she stared back into Jaune's blue eyes, she saw nothing but determination in them.

A violent Shock enveloped both Maria and Jaune and the two let out harsh and pained screams.

Everyone in the crowd and Gwen all looked to the aura gauges. Jaune's aura was the first to hit the red zone. Maria followed a few seconds after. "THAT'S ENOUGH!" Mr. Jetts voice called out. Gwen turned off the trap and Mr. Jett sprinted into the middle of the arena, with Gwen doing the same thing. Maria fell backwards off Jaune and the two began to twitch uncontrollably.

Mr. Jett kneeled down next to his two students and began to inspect them. Gwen crouched next to Jaune and held onto his hand. A few seconds go by and Maria stops twitching. Maria opened her eyes and slowly got up with the help of Mr. Jett. Once he made sure Maria was okay, he began to work on Jaune, who was still twitching.

"Jaune are you okay?!" Gwen nearly cried out. The twitching stopped and he let out a small groan. He opened his eyes and looked into Gwen's brown eyes with his goofy grin.

"Depends," he moaned out. "Did we win?" Mr. Jett and Gwen help Jaune up. All of them turn to the aura board. Jaune's Aura was at ten percent, Maria's was at twenty five, and Gwen's was at thirty three.

"Yes," Mr. Jett called out. He raises his voice even louder for everyone to hear. "Jaune and Gwen win the fight!" The crowd began to cheer for the two of them. Despite only seeing part of the fight, they could all tell that it was a good one. Jaune just smiles and lets out a relived sigh. Meanwhile Maria was still processing the fact that she lost to the weakest combat fighter of NDGO and the fraud of Beacon.

"Mr. Arc," Mr. Jett lowered his voice. "Are you okay? Pulling a stunt like that was very risky."

"I'm fine," Jaune tried to reassure his teacher. "Just a little knocked up." As Maria slowly went back to her seat, still shocked about what happened, Gwen and Mr. Jett help Jaune back up to his.

"A little? Mr. Arc you took a couple of blows without using your aura to protect you. Why?"

"I had to make sure… I wouldn't get knocked out before the trap went off." Jaune could feel himself getting weaker but said nothing. What they didn't know wouldn't hurt them. Meanwhile Mr. Jett let out a grunt. It was a stupid move on Jaune's part to do that. they have rules for sparring for a reason. However he knew better than to kick a dog when it's down. He could lecture his student later, after he's rested.

"Jaune I could have set off the trap myself," Gwen intervened. "You didn't need to hurt yourself further."

"Maybe not…" Jaune let out a harsh cough. "But I wanted this to be _our_ win, not just one of ours. I wanted to make absolutely sure the plan went off, and that included both of us doing our parts." He flashed Gwen a smile. "And you did your job just fine. Thank you, Gwen." The comment made Gwen blush a little bit. It's been a while since she got complimented by a guy like that.

Mr. Jett would admit that he was impressed with Jaune's answer. Jaune knew the risks of not using his aura but he took them anyway to help make sure the trap went off. He could respect that. "We will be discussing your fight during class. Make sure you get notes from your classmates."

"Why? I told you… I am… fi-" and just like that, Jaune blacked out.

"Jaune?" Gwen asked in a panicked voice. She looked up to her combat instructor. "Is he…?!"

"No," Mr. Jett answered her unasked question. "He's just passed out. His injuries from previous altercations like initiation mixed with his fight were too much for him to handle. I was afraid this would happen. Yet I still let it happen." He mumbled that last part. Out of the year Gwen knew Mr. Jett, he always spoke with certainty in his voice. But now, she heard guilt and regret. She decided not to comment on it. "Miss Darcy, please have Miss Gale tend to his wounds while you go fetch a med kit from the infirmary. I will call ahead and let them know what happened. Can you do that?"

Gwen looked at her unconscious friend. This is the guy who helped her realize her boyfriend's jealously was a good thing. He was the guy that saved her from the bandits during initiation. He was the closest thing to a guy friend she has ever had aside from Brandon. She had a feeling grow into her heart, but she couldn't place what it was. She looked back up and gave Mr. Jett a confident nod. "Okay then, I leave him to you." Witht hat done, Mr. Jett walks back out to the arena to start his lecture.

As Gwen walked up the stairs to the bleacher, she wass greeted by her team, all of whom gave her praise for how she did. The praise made Gwen smile, but she told them that she needed help with Jaune. The rest of team NDGO finally realized that Jaune was unconscious and came to help him. Gwen tells Dew what Mr. Jett assigned them to do, and Dew followed the orders without hesitation. As team NDGO tried their best to help Jaune, Mr. Jett started his lecture.

 **To be continued.**

 **Beta Reader: TheShadowOfZama**


	30. Arc 2 Chapter 17

**Back at Beacon:**

Classes for team RWBY were… awkward to say the least. Heck just waking up was awkward and uncomfortable. For once Ruby was actually the first to get up instead of lazing around until the last minute. Just as she got done getting dressed the rest of her team woke up. Usually Ruby is the most talkative out of all of them, but today all she said was a "Good morning" and left them alone. Seeing Ruby's spark gone... it was upsetting. The rest of her team knew it was their fault.

During classes, Ruby lacked her usual charm. She kept her eyes down into her notebook and the teacher only. She refused to look at anyone else. This did not go unnoticed by the teachers and students. Some friends of Ruby would try and approach her and ask what's wrong, but she gave them a fake smile and said she was fine. It seemed the only good side that came from this was she actually taking notes.

Combat class was possibly the worst. Goodwitch decided to do team against team, which made fighting pretty awkward for them. Ruby didn't call out any moves; she only focused on the people attacking her. This made it so it was really only one team versus four huntresses in training. Again, this did not go unnoticed by Goodwitch.

Even NPR could see that Ruby wasn't behaving naturally. During lunch, the two teams still sat together and talked with each other, even if it wasn't as loud as they used to. Again, Ruby avoided eye contact with her team. She only gave one or two word answers whenever they asked anything. Meanwhile whenever NPR asked a question she answered as she usually did, full of energy and joy. NPR would often get quick looks at the rest of team RWBY when she did this and they saw how hurt RWBY was.

Pyrrha actually wanted things to stay like this. She said something about "feeling the pain Jaune felt when they ignored him," or something like that. Ren and Nora however, knew better. They wouldn't watch RWBY slowly crumble. They weren't filled with vengeance like Pyrrha was. SO they did what they thought was the best thing to do. They told Ozpin about the predicament, both of Ruby's and Pyrrha's.

Ozpin told them that he planned of talking with Ruby due to getting many reports of Ruby's peculiar behavior. He then told them that he will have a talk with Pyrrha about her attitude. This made Ren and Nora happy. Even with Jaune gone they just wanted things to go back to the way it was.

All of this leads to Ruby talking with Ozpin right now. She sat across from his desk as he took a slow sip from his mug. She was called to his office an hour or so after classes have ended, and she had no idea why she was called here. She squirmed a little nervously in her chair.

"Professor Ozpin," she mumbled. "Am I in trouble for something?" Ozpin put his mug down and let out a small sigh. Ruby had no idea how to take that development.

"Not with me," Ozpin started. "But I believe you are with your team." Ruby's eyes widen for a second at the realization of her summoning. It then turns into a small frown. "Miss Rose, you are very close with your team. Why is it now that you seemed to have grown a distaste for them, even your own sister?" Ruby let out a small huff.

"I'm mad that they don't trust me." Ozpin raised an eyebrow to this. He has seen them talk and fight and knows that they all trust her, even after Weiss's complaint about leadership. Perhaps it was on a more personal level.

"Would you care to explain?" Ruby looked back at Ozpin. He had comforting look on his face. It was filled with patience, as if he was saying "You can take as long as you need to."

"Well… NPR and my team have been trying to contact Jaune after you… expelled him." She mumbled that last part, but Ozpin heard her. Expelling Jaune was possibly one of the hardest things he's ever had to do. However, the boy kept insisting on it as he didn't want to taint Beacon's reputation any longer. His words, not Ozpin's.

"That's good," Ozpin said with a smile. "I'm glad to see that you're all still trying to stay connected with him going to Shade." That last statement pulled Ruby's heartstrings.

"Well… the thing is…"

With that, Ruby began telling Ozpin everything. How she and her team decided to ignore Jaune, how they felt upset after he left and didn't talk with anyone, how they somehow got his scroll number despite him changing it (She kept the details vague for obvious reasons.), and finally how Jaune didn't seem to want to talk with them.

"… to make matters worse, my team didn't even tell me what they were thinking when I wanted to talk with him."

"What do you mean?" Ruby again shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

"Well… they told me they thought that Jaune wouldn't want to talk to us. What makes me mad was they told me _after_ I had to see the text that said that."

"I see…" was all Ozpin said. He looked like he was wrapping his mind around something. After thirty seconds of silence Ruby saw a glint in his eyes. Before she could ask about it, Ozpin dismissed her. "Thank you Miss Rose, you may go." As much as Ruby wanted to ask what he was thinking, she knew better than to be disrespectful to her elders. She nodded her head and then took her leave.

"Oh and Miss Rose," She took one last look as she got in the elevator to see Ozpin pull up something on his computer. "I'm sure your team had their reasons for not telling you there opinions. The best course of action would be to talk to them." He gave her one last nod. Ruby reluctantly gave a nod back. When the elevator door closed, Ozpin looked back to his computer and clicked the call button on the contacts name. The computer rings a couple of times before a familiar blue haired headmistress came up. She was wearing her usual White T-shirt and black vest attire.

"Hello Oz," She said. "How can I help you?"

"Belinda," Ozpin gave a curt nod. "Can I ask a personal favor? It will involve Jaune Arc."

 **Back at Shade, a few hours earlier.**

Jaune let out a tiny groan and slowly opened his eyes. His vision was dark and blurry but as the seconds pass everything becomes much clearer. "Told you he'd wake up," he heard Dew say.

"Dammit man," He heard Octavia complain. "Couldn't you have just stayed knocked out for like, five more minutes?" Jaune slowly rises, but feels stiffness everywhere in his body. He notices that he is laying on the bleachers. He groans a little again and sits up. He looks around the arena and sees people chatting and starting to walk towards the door. Seeing as how no one left yet he had to assume the bell didn't ring. To his left he sees Octavia giving Dew what looked to be a ten lien bill.

"You feeling all right dude?" he heard behind him. He sets his feet to the ground and looks to his right to see Nebula giving him a small smile.

"I feel like I got chewed up and spat out by an Ursa," Jaune commented. "So no worse than usual." This got a small giggle from the purple haired leader.

"Are you sure?" he heard Gwen asked him. He turned to the black haired girl.

"Relax, I've taken worst."

"That doesn't help me calm down!" Gwen's voice had risen a bit. This caught her team off guard as she never raises her voice. This did not go unnoticed by a couple of other students. "If I would have known that you were weaker than you let on, I wouldn't have gone through with the trap!"

"Why do you think I didn't tell you?" Gwen glared at Jaune who sighed and rubbed his head. "Gwen sacrifices have to made in order to win sometimes."

"As true as that is," another voice said, causing the five students to freeze with a small tinge of fear. The voice belonged to Mr. Jett who had climbed up to the bleachers. "There is the point where you are making unnecessary sacrifices. Especially with the fact that you turned your aura off mid-fight." All of team NDGO went wide eyed at that last statement and looked at Jaune. He had a sheepish smile on his face. "NDGO, leave Mr. Arc and me alone for a minute." NDGO noted Mr. Jett's tone, and it was not a pleasant one. They gave Jaune one last sympathetic look before heading to the door.

"You noticed that huh?" Jaune asked as he rubbed the back of his neck. He is then met with a fist pounding on his head. He grabs his head and lets out another groan of pain.

"What were you thinking?!" Mr. Jett lectured. "There's a reason we have the aura-in-red rule. It's so students don't pull a stunt like that! You could've gotten yourself…" Jaune could see that Mr. Jett was having a hard time getting the sentence out. "You could've gotten yourself killed."

"Mr. Jett," Jaune started. "I had disarmed her. The most she could have done was beat the crap out of me. I've gotten enough beatings back at Beacon where I can take a few punches. Besides I put my aura back up in time before the trap went off."

"And if you didn't?" Jaune tensed when Mr. Jett asked that question. "What if you couldn't surround your body fast enough and it didn't block the shock? What about if she had one of Gwen's knives hidden behind her? What if she tried to gouge your eyes?" Jaune couldn't think of any good responses to those questions. He let out a sad sigh and hung his head. How could he have been so dumb!? What kind of idiot would turn off Aura in the middle of a fight?

He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Mr. Jett giving him a concerned look. "Look, I will give you points for using a tactical mind, but there are some plans that should never be put in motion. hey may work in theory but in practice it can end up being the biggest mistake ever. Understand?" Jaune gave a nod but looked to the ground. "I'm just glad you decided to experiment here than on a real fight." Jaune felt a little better after the small praise. "Now… since your wounds seemed to have gotten worst, I'm afraid I can't let you participate for the next week in class. Take the time to learn more about your semblance and control it." Jaune perked up as he heard this. "You seem to waste a lot of aura when you use it." Jaune looked back up to this teacher and he could see the smile underneath the scarf. "Oh and don't forget about the rocket locker either."

"Yes sir," Jaune said with a full smile. Mr. Jett gave a nod and went back down into the arena. Jaune Made sure he had everything he needed and went over to the door, ready to get ready for the next class. He walked up to NDGO who were conversing amongst themselves.

They noticed Jaune and let him join in the conversation. "Hey man, you all right?" Nebula asked.

"I'm fine. He definetly gave me some things to think about."

"Good, cause I'm not healing your broken ass anymore," Dew said with a smug grin. "I got enough on my plate as it is."

"What did I do to make the white mage mad?" Jaune pointed his thumb at Dew. Nebula let out a stifled laugh as the other girls looked at him confused.

"What's a white mage?" Octavia asked. When Nebula was done laughing she pretended to wipe a tear away.

"A White mage is basically a healer in a game," She explained.

"Figures the nerd of our group is the only one to get it," Dew teased. Nebula punched her in the arm causing Dew to rub it.

"That's what I thought." Jaune smiled at NDGO's antics. Just as he was about to bring up another topic, Jaune heard his name being called from behind him. He turned around to see Marston, the guy from his dust study class walking up to him. Now that a desk wasn't covering him, Jaune could see what Marston had on him.

He was still wearing the cowboy hat with the feather and the sleeveless blackish blue vest with the Tan shirt. This time his satchel was strapped to his side. Jaune saw the two holsters strapped to his belt on both sides of his hips. Each were holding a medium sized revolver. He was wearing dark blue jeans with leather boots. This guy just screamed "Western" to Jaune.

Marston goes up to Jaune and sticks his hand out. "Clayton, Clayton Martson," he said. Jaune shook his hand and told him his name. "Nice to officially meet you Jaune. Thought I'd say a few things to ya."

"Uh… sure," Jaune said a little uncomfortably. Clayton seemed polite, but when he was getting eyed by the guy in Dust class it gave Jaune the assumption he didn't like him.

"First, that was a helluva match. Won't lie, with what my leader's been telling me, I thought you'd keel over in the first minute." Jaune let out a nervous chuckle, yet he could still feel anger burn in his chest. Why does everyone think he's weak? "But I can see now that he's just letting his emotions getting to the best of him like usual. Can't wait to fight you myself." Clayton held out his arm, waiting for Jaune to make a move. When Jaune realized what he wanted, he hit Clayton's forearm with his own, forming an X with their arms.

"Thanks Clayton," Jaune said with a grin. Clayton gave a small nod. He looked over his shoulder and around as if he was seeing if someone was watching him.

"And uh… keep this between you and me." Jaune nodded his head and leaned closer. "I think my leader wants to fight you but not for the reasons he claims." Jaune cocked an eyebrow.

"Who _is_ your leader anyway?" Clayton pointed his thumb to a familiar looking bull faunus.

"Malcolm is." Jaune's eyes widened at that fact. "I'll see you around Jaune." With that Clayton left Jaune to his thoughts. How could the impulsive Malcolm be the leader to someone like Clayton? Seemed weird but Jaune shrugged it off. As Clayton was walking back to his team Jaune noticed that he had two extra revolvers in holsters on his backside.

"Well I can see that you starting to get popular," Octavia said to Jaune. Jaune let out a small laugh and shrugged his shoulders.

"Don't ask me how," Jaune stated. "It seems everyone either hates me or likes me. Very little in between."

"Well… you're a nice guy," Gwen said as she rubbed her arm. He gave Gwen a smile as a thanks for the compliment, causing the Gwen to give a small shy smile back.

"Wow dude," Dew said sarcastically. "Making our girl blush. Don't you know she has a boyfriend?" Gwen's blush went deeper as Dew teased Jaune. While the teasing wasn't directed to her, the fact that she was suggesting that Jaune was flirting with her made the black haired girl more embarrassed. Even Jaune grew a deeper shade of red.

"Yes I did," Jaune stated matter-of-factually. "And you know what Dew, you can-" Before Jaune finished the bell rang.

"Welp gotta go to class. Bye~!" With that Dew disappeared faster than a speeding bullet. Gwen was still left a blushing mess, Jaune got red with anger, Nebula was comforting her black haired teammate, and Octavia was laughing so hard she coughed halfway through.

As the four of them continued to talk and walk to their next class, Jaune realized that he and Octavia were in the same class next. The two of them say goodbye to Gwen and Nebula and headed to grimm studies. As they got into the classroom, Jaune remembered what Mr. Jett said about the rocket locker. They took a seat and Jaune asked for help with the locker.

"Sure I can help you man," Octavia said. Jaune smile.

"Thanks Octavia," he said. "I could use the help."

"You could use a lot of help for a lot of things," A familiar voice joked as it took a seat next to Jaune. Jaune looked and saw Roy waving at him. "What's up dude?"

"Hey Roy." The two fist bump and talk with Octavia. Jaune asked if Roy would help Jaune with his locker, but the older students said that Hatsume, the upperclassmen that taught him how to engineer stuff, needed him for a special project she was working on. After Roy gave his answer, the bell rung and class begun.

* * *

The rest of Jaune's classes were fairly uneventful. In Grimm studies they just reviewed grimm they learned last semester, most of which Jaune knew about. However he actually learned more about grimm in this one session than he did at all of Port's classes. It was a nice change of pace. However, Jaune learned a creepy tidbit about Mrs. Devana. Apparently, from what Octavia and Roy told him, she was extremely bloodthirsty when it came to fighting grimm. From the undertones which she used when discussing Grimm's weaknesses, he believed it and that freaked him out a bit.

In language class with Mr. Ezra, he had to group Jaune with the people he had to learn vacuan with. Wallace was in this class, stating that he found it unnecessary for his first few years here until he had no idea what the bandits were saying which made gaining info a lot harder. Ever since then he's been taking this class. He promised he'd help Jaune out if he ever needed it, which Jaune was thankful for.

Finally, in science class he had Brawnz in that class with him. Mr. Young's class was probably the most boring for him. Again it was just review and it was stuff Jaune already knew about. He practically fell asleep in class. Which caused Shadow, Mr. Young's wolfdog, to nip at his leg to keep him awake.

When the final bell rung for classes to be done, Jaune said goodbye to Brawnz and headed straight over to the arena to get his rocket locker. As he made his way there, he found Octavia walking on her way there. "Hey Octavia," he called out.

Octavia turned toward him and gave a small smile. "Hey," she said back. The two began talking about how their day went. Apparently Octavia had to turn down three guys who tried to ask her out. Jaune was starting to notice a trend between the girls of NDGO and guys asking them out. Mostly it did not end up going well for the guys.

"So any ladies catch your eye blondie?" Octavia asked. Jaune blushed at the sudden question. Sure some did. Hell practically every huntsman in training he met was model status. Even so…

"Maybe, maybe not," Jaune answered. "Besides if I do, who would go out with me ya know? That'd be a good characteristic." Jaune spread his arms out as if he was revealing something. "'The girlfriend of the Beacon fraud!' Got a nice ring to it huh?"

"Dude will you shut up about being the fraud of Beacon already?" Octavia's tone was half joking and half serious. Jaune let out a sigh.

"I already know what you're going to say. Most of BRNZ gave me the same shtick as well." Octavia turned to Jaune. He was looking at the ground, a somber look was on his face. "It's just… it's hard for me to think I belong here when for nearly a month I've been told I don't belong anywhere near huntsmen academies, ya know?"

Octavia could tell that Jaune was taking it a little hard. She put a hand on his shoulder, causing him to look up. All she did was give him a smile. Not words of encouragement, just a small smile. Jaune appreciated it. He could only take so much encouragement before he began to think people only did it to make him feel better, not that they believed it. Something as simple as smile was all Jaune needed.

The two eventually made their way to the locker room. Jaune could see various lockers missing from students who obviously wanted to keep them in their rooms. They found Mr. Jett, as he was sitting at one of the benches looking at his scroll.

Jaune cleared his throat, causing the teacher to look at him. "Aw good," he said. He got up and stretched a little bit. "I see you brought Miss Ember with you. Is it just you two?" Jaune and Octavia nodded their heads at the same time. "All right then." Mr. Jett knocked on one of the lockers, causing a small echo to fill the room. "This one's yours. Don't kill yourselves trying to get it to his room."

"No promises," Octavia joked. Mr. Jett let out a low hum and then waved goodbye. The two students stood in front of the locker, somewhat dreading the fact that they have to carry it up a couple flight of stairs.

"Shall we?" Jaune asked. Octavia nodded her head and the two of them got in front of the locker. Jaune slowly tilted the locker over and set it on the ground. "All right, you grab the front end, I'll grab the bottom."

"Sounds good to me." Octavia bends over and grabs her end while Jaune grabs his end. "Okay, one, two, three!" The two students groan as they lift up the locker. While it wasn't that heavy, it was still a metal locker with rockets attached to it, so it had some weight to it. The two slowly carry it out of the locker room and make their way to Jaune's dorm room.

* * *

About halfway through the two of them decided to take a small break, as their arms were getting tired and they were breathing quite heavily. They were in the first floor common area of the dorms. Some people were annoyed that they decided to take a break right there but didn't do anything aside give small glares and annoyed mumbles. As they rested Jaune looked at Octavia.

"Hey," he started. The red head was sitting on the locker, the same as Jaune, but she turned her head toward him. "Thanks for helping me with this. I appreciate it." Octavia gave Jaune a small smile.

"No problem dude," she said. "Besides with the way you handle yourself you'd probably end up back in the infirmary again."

"Ha ha," Jaune said, sarcasm dripping heavily in his voice. After another minute of resting, Jaune got up and let out a sigh. "All right let's get back to it." Octavia nodded her head and got to her side of the locker. Jaune counted down and the two began moving it again. However, halfway to the stairs a male voice called to them.

"Hey, need a hand?" the voice said. Jaune looked and saw someone he recognized from combat class coming over to him. He put his hands on the locker and help took some weight off the two students.

"Thanks," Jaune said.

"Hey after seeing you kick Maria's ass into next week I'll do almost anything to return the favor." Octavia raised an eyebrow at this.

"You have beef with her or something?" Octavia asked the guy.

"Doesn't everyone? The chick's been screaming about how she's better than everyone ever since she got lucky and beat a fourth year and a second year. Someone needed to teach her a lesson."

"So why wasn't it you?" Octavia asked. While Jaune was thinking the same thing, he had the decency to not say it out loud. The guy chuckled.

"Like I said, she beat a second year and a fourth year. Only an idiot would try and fight her after those two wins." Jaune glared at the guy as they continued up the stairs. He let out an awkward chuckle. "No offense."

"Well he isn't wrong," Octavia said. Jaune looked over at her with a somewhat hurt expression. "Jaune don't take it the wrong way, but you do tend to be impulsive from time to time."

"Even so, from what I hear it tends to work out with you in the end. Not a lot of us can say the same thing." Jaune had a small smile on his face. Little praises like this are something he liked the most. Not to mention he learned a weakness about himself; something he can improve on.

"Thanks guys," Jaune said with a grin. "Now then, let's just get this into my dorm. I don't want to spend all day on this." With a nod the trio continued to carry the locker.

* * *

Once they were outside of Jaune's room the three of them set the locker down and all let out breaths of relief. Jaune nodded to the first year who nodded back. The two shook hands and said goodbye to each other.

Jaune goes to the door and tries to unlock it. Once he does the two practically dragged the locker into his room, too tired to even lift it anymore. When they brought it in, Jaune collapsed onto one of the four beds in his room. From passing out in combat class, to having to lug his locker to his room, all he wanted to do was rest. He removed Crocea Mors and tossed it onto one of the beds.

Octavia decided to rest and laid onto one of the beds too. She let her right leg dangle off the side of the bed as she let out a sigh. As she laid there she took a look around the room. Again, it looked pretty empty aside from the dressers and beds. Sure there were some clothes thrown about here and there but other than that it was still just a regular room. It didn't have any personal touches, and that made Octavia a little upset. She wasn't someone who liked the look of blank walls. Blandness kind of annoyed her.

"Hey dude?" She called. Jaune let out a grunt to let her know that he was paying attention. "When are you going to decorate this place?" Jaune sat up in the bed he was laying on and stretched.

"Whenever my furniture gets here," he answered. She looked over at him and he looked at her as he laid back down. "I'm not sure when it will be here but I'm hoping it's soon. All though I won't lie I'm kinda nervous about how I want my room to be."

"How come?" Jaune turned to his side to face Olivia. He rests his head on his hand.

"Well I just have a lot of moving around I have to do with everything and I want to get rid of two of the beds in here since it's literally only me. Not to mention I'm not really sure _how_ I want things arranged you know?"

"I get ya." Octavia looked back up at the ceiling. "I'm not a girl who likes… blandness. At the same time if something just doesn't have a good…composition I think is the word I'm looking for, it makes me furious." Jaune lets out a small chuckle.

"So if I purposely make my room ugly looking you'll get mad?"

"I will stab you if you purposely do it just to tick me off." The two share a laugh. A moment of peaceful silence passes before Octavia speaks again. "Seriously though, I'll help you with your room dude." The two of them look at each other. Jaune sees the warm smile on Octavia's lips and he smiles back.

"Thanks Octavia," he said.

"You can call me Oct you know." Jaune looked at her and saw that she meant it. He smiles.

"All right then." Jaune felt his scroll buzz and took it out of his pocket. He looked at the new message that arrived. As he read it he slowly got up and out of his bed. Olivia saw this and sat up.

"What's up?" she asked. Jaune pocketed his scroll but she saw that he had a smile on his face.

"You ever heard of the phrase 'speak of the devil and he shall come'?" Octavia nodded her head. "Well it turns out to be true." He flashes her his signature grin. "My furniture is here. I hope you aren't going back on your word."

Octavia let out a moan. "I just want to lay on your bed all day and relax. DO I have to keep my word?" Jaune snapped his fingers at her.

"Up. Let's go." The two chuckled and began to exit the room. Jaune took out his scroll and dialed a number. When Octavia asked who was calling he said "Brawnz." after a few seconds of rining someone picked up the phone. "Hey Brawnz… I'm doing fine. Mind if I ask you a favor?" there is a moment of silence. "Okay if you or anyone else on your team isn't busy can you meet me at the front door of Shade? I have a favor to ask… It might take an hour or two… okay I'll see you there." With that Jaune hung up his scroll. He turned to Octavia and walked backwards. "Good news, you aren't the only helping."

"Thank the gods," Octavia said. she took out her own scroll and pointed at it. "Should I call my team to help or…?"

Jaune shrugged. "Up to you. We should have enough but I'm not saying no to more help." Octavia nodded her head and dialed her friends' number. As she talked to her friends, Jaune turned forward again, a big smile on his face. For some reason, he felt like he was on cloud nine. Maybe it was the fact that he finally got to work on his room. Maybe it was because he had friends here that are going to help him. Whatever it was, Jaune liked it.

 **To be continued.**

 **BetaReader: TheShadowOfZama**


	31. Arc 2 Chapter 18

Jaune and Octavia finally reach the entrance of Shade. As they looked out the glass entrance Jaune gets a smile on his face as he sees a bunch of boxes, and about five men wearing black suits with red ties. Some had hats and red shades on, and others only had one of the two or nothing at all. Octavia didn't like the look of them. They almost looked like the mafia in those old movies she sometimes watched.

When they exited the school the guys in the suits look over at them. They gave Octavia a glare, but the minute they saw Jaune their eyes glued to him and they all grew smiles. "Hey guys," June said with a wave. The guys in the suits went up to Jaune and shook his hand, gave him a high five, a fist bump or a headlock. Basically how guys normally greet each other.

"How have you been man?" One of the guys asked.

"I've been good," Jaune answered. "I won't lie I missed some of your guy's ugly mugs."

"Like you look any better?" One of them quipped. "You look like shit."

"Hey screw you." Jaune shoved one of the goons causing the others to laugh. All of these interactions between Jaune and the men threw Octavia for a loop. Jaune seemed like the guy who would call the police if anyone so much as even looked like a criminal. Again, these guys just screamed organized crime. Yet here Jaune was laughing and messing with these guys as if they were old friends.

"Octavia?" She heard a voice say. She shakes her head and looks behind her to see Brawnz and Dew walking up behind her. "Who are these guys?" Octavia pointed her thumb over to Jaune. The two of them see that Jaune was talking to one of the guys with sunglasses on. Brawnz eyes widen when he recognized who these people were.

He walks over to Jaune with a forced smile on his face. "Hey Jaune," he greeted, getting the blonde's attention.

"Oh, Hey Brawnz," Jaune said. The two slap hands together and shoulder bump each other. "Hey thanls for helping me move my stuff." Brawnz waved his hand.

"No problem dude." Brawnz looked around at the guys in the suits and he could tell they were watching him. Either these guys were very protective of Jaune, or there's something else going on. Brawnz wraps his arm around Jaune's shoulder and leads him away from prying eyes. "Besides it's about time you got yourself some furniture. Your room was a little depressing." Jaune scratched the back of his head.

"I'll say." Brawnz took a quick glance behind him to see that theyu were still being watched. He lowered his voice so only Jaune could here.

"Can we talk privately for a second?" Jaune looked at Brawnz slightly confused. "Please?" Jaune bit his lip as if to decide whether or not he wanted to. He turned around and yelled at the guys in the suits.

"You guys can start bringing stuff in!" the blonde turned to the two girls who would helkp him out. "Dew and Oct, can you show them to my dorm?"

"Sure thing!" Octavia answered. She motioned the guys to follow her, some of whom begrudgingly did so. Two guys grabbed Jaune's TV, the other three grabbed various boxes that were around. Dew cupped her hands and called to the two students.

"Don't leave us to do the work you two!" She joked. Jaune waved her off and she gave a smirk. She turned went to help one of the guys who was having trouble lifting the sofa Jaune had. When Brawnz made sure that they weren't being watched he gripped Jaune's shoulder the way an older brother would.

"What are you doing with them Jaune?" Brawnz voice was low and he was giving Jaune a glare. Jaune shifted a little uncomfortably, but his face stayed stoic.

"What do you mean?" Jaune asked playing dumb. "They're just old co-workers who came to help." Brawnz tightened his grip on the younger boy's shoulder causing Jaune to let out a small grunt.

"Don't lie to me. I know they work with a criminal." While Jaune tilted his head and had a confused look on his face, Brawnz could feel and see his body tense up.

"Brawnz I have no idea what your-"

"They work for a guy in Vale named Junior. He is an informant that gives information to anyone willing to pay it." Brawnz leaned closer and clenched his teeth. "And I mean _anyone._ So talk." Jaune looked over his shoulder to see that some of his furniture was still there but everyone was gone. He let out a defeated sigh.

"How'd you know?" Jaune tone was different compared to the faux confused or shocked one. He didn't seem angry, or scared that Brawnz knew. Brawnz expected him to defend them a bit or at the very least tell Brawnz to drop it, but he didn't. He just seemed curious as to how he knew.

"I was looking around for a club late at night during the Vytal Festival; somewhere to unwind away from pretty much everything that happened after our teams fought."

* * *

Brawnz looked up at the red neon sign. The letters where in a somewhat classy format and they spelled out "Fox's Paradise." Weird name for a club but he didn't mind. He walked in the club and he could hear the music thump as he slowly descended down the stairs. After the events of today he needed a drink, but at the same time he didn't want to be with his team. He failed them as a leader by letting that orange haired girl hit all of them out.

Still though, the leader of the team they lost to did seem pretty cool. He was even a little sorry about it being a cheap way to win. While it calmed Brawnz in that moment, it didn't wash away the shame. Hopefully a beer or two would.

Brawnz walked over to the bar as the music continued to play in his head. He would admit he would like to dance, but after a stressful day like today, he just wanted a drink and then to leave. He sat down at the stool and waited until one of the men in the black suits and red ties came up to him.

"What can I get you?" the bartender asked. Brawnz told the bartender one of their brands and he gave a nod and went over to the tap. When the Vacuan got the drink he paid up immediately. With the bartender satisfied with the pay he left Brawnz to his drink.

As Brawnz took his first sip of the bitter drink he let out a tired sigh. He just let his mind roam free of all thoughts that came to him. Was it even worth coming all the way to Vale just to fail in front of everyone? Was it worth it to make his team come all the way here just to face that defeat? Hell, after something that embarrassing was he even worthy to call himself a huntsman?

The leader was shaken from his thoughts when he saw a door next to him open up. A man with short black hair and a beard dressed in a black vest and a white dress shirt walked out of the door with a shifty looking guy. The bearded man also had black gloves and a red tie while the shifty looking guy was wearing his hood up.

"Thanks Junior," the guy with the hood said. Brawnz pretended he was looking into his mug but he looked at the two out of the corner of his eye to see the shifty guy giving Junior a fat wad of cash. Junior gave a smile and nod and the two of them part ways. Apparently he saw Brawnz look at him. He glared at the huntsman in training. Brawnz took a sip from his mug but Junior walked up to him.

"What's a Shade student doing here?" Junior asked. Brawnz took another sip from his mug and glared at Junior.

"No idea what you're talking about…" Brawnz lied. Brawnz was not in the mood to get kicked out of a club. To his surprise Junior put his hands up.

"Easy kid. I only know that because everyone in Vale watches the festival." Junior pointed his thumb at one of the many TVs in the club. "Besides, after blondie threw her hissy fit I'm pretty much forced to let you students drink here." Sounded like a story, unfortunately Brawnz didn't care enough to ask. However there was one question on his mind.

"So… you some kind of informant?" The two guys eyes meet and they glare at each other.

"No idea what you're talking about." Brawnz chuckled as his own words were thrown back at him.

"Relax. I don't care enough about Vale to get you busted." Junior let out a laugh as he pulled up in the seat next to Brawnz.

"Doesn't sound very huntsman-like of you." Brawnz looked down into his now empty mug. Brawnz won't lie, he wasn't wrong. Huntsmen these day are probably doing more police work in the city than defending the people from grimm attacks. This was especially true at Shade as the huntsmen are pretty much the only law and order in the country. Still, he knew that it would be a waste of time to get rid of Junior and this club for many different reasons. After all, if he ever found himself back here again it wouldn't hurt to have a guy who has dirt on some of the criminals in town.

"Maybe not, but at the same time Vale rules and Vacuo rules are very different. Besides you're letting me drink here despite knowing that I'm a student." Brawnz gave a half smile at the owner. "Be kind of a dick move for me to do that."

Junior lets out a tiny chuckle. "You are definitely a better customer than Blondie." With that Junior let Brawnz enjoy his drink.

* * *

Jaune was silent as Brawnz told his story. So Brawnz met his former boss… he wasn't sure how he felt about that. Then again, when Brawnz met him Junior wasn't really the blonde's boss yet. It didn't matter though. The fact of the matter was…

"If you want to be a huntsman, why did you work with an underground informant?" The older boy asked. Jaune looked down at the floor. He knew that his jobs after Beacon would be discovered. He was just hoping it wasn't so early. Jaune took a big gulp.

"Brawnz," he started. Brawnz raised an eyebrow as Jaune slowly lifted his head. Jaune's blue eyes stared straight into Brawnz's purple eyes with unwavering confidence. "Name one legit business that would let the _Fraud of Beacon_ as an employee." Jaune expected to be told that there were probably many options. After all that's what everyone at Beacon would say. Pyr would continue to worry about him. Ruby would probably view him as a criminal but still think he could be 'redeemed' despite only helping with a few jobs. Ozpin probably would have tried to get a job for him.

In fact, this situation almost reminded him of his old one with Pyrrha. The one where she suggested she helped train him. Those insecurities about not being good enough came flooding back. Back then he was feeling insecure that his own partner thought he needed help with something that a basic huntsman needed. He thought she pitied him. Jaune didn't want their pity. He didn't _need_ their pity. He hated the way his friends used to look at him every time he screwed up. He was expecting Brawnz to give that same look. That look that made him feel like every sacrifice he made to get there wasn't worth it because they still saw Jaune as someone who needed help, not someone who could help.

Brawnz didn't give Jaune that look.

"All right," Brawnz said calmly. He gave Jaune a pat on the shoulder. "I understand. Most people probably wouldn't want a controversial name in their store. I'm sorry I doubted you." Jaune's mouth opened in shock as if he wanted to say something but couldn't think of anything. He felt this feeling of relief, and happiness. Brawnz just said he trusted Jaune with people he knew were criminals. Anyone else would have berated his ex-coworkers and/or just try to get them arrested. Brawnz on the other hand was giving them a chance. Brawnz actually _listened_ to Jaune's side instead of making him think he was an idiot for joining Junior. He began to flash his signature goofy grin.

"Hey don't get so smiley now," Brawnz warned. Jaune could hear Brawnz's tone shift to a more serious one. Jaune could see that Brawnz was looking at him with a straight and almost threatening face. "These guys are still criminals. One mishap and I will inform Headmistress Nyx. Understand?"

Jaune nodded his head. He couldn't blame Brawnz for being untrustworthy. Ex-coworkers or not, Junior's men were still gangsters and they walked into a place filled with huntsmen in training. It made sense that Brawnz wouldn't let them walk free if they did something stupid. With Jaune getting the message, Brawnz smiled.

"All right, now that that's settled, grab a box or two and let's get to working on your dorm." Just like that, the conversation almost never happened. Jaune felt a warmth in his chest that he hadn't felt in a long time from other students. Trust, and friendship. As Jaune walked over to his pile of stuff, he took a look at Shade again. Sure, it wasn't as fancy or proper as Beacon, and yet he felt more at home here than he did back in Vale. He let out a tiny chuckle as he and Branwz grabbed one of the boxes filled with his junk, and headed back to the door.

* * *

When the two got back to Jaune's dorm, they saw two of Junior's men trying to carry one of the beds out of his room. They saw Jaune and gave a nod as they slowly got the bed out of his room with Dew following behind them. "All right just set it here, and we'll take it out later." Dew saw the two guys and walked over to them. "Sup losers? Whatcha got there?" she pointed at the boxes in the two students hands. Brawnz raised an eyebrow and lightly shook his box.

"I actually have no idea," Brawnz said. Jaune chuckled as he saw the two of them guess what was in the box.

"Listen we can look at them when we get into my room all right?" The two students nodded their head and went back into the room. As they did Brawnz and Jaune saw that Dew was telling two of Junior's men to take one of the other beds out of his room. The other one was taking out stuff from the boxes they brought. The objects in questioned were simple things like comics and books that Jaune had. One box had a bunch of clothes in it. Jaune chuckled as he saw this. "I'm surprised to see you guys taking orders from Oct and Dew." One of the men carrying the bed sighed.

"We work with the twins and they kick our asses anytime we don't follow them," he said. "What makes you think we're going to mess with Huntresses in training?" Jaune chuckled as he set the box down. The blonde knew the twins could be very aggressive, and yet it was one of the reasons he was glad they were one of his friends. He then went over to the two holding the bed and helped them out.

"Well while you help them I'm going to dig through your stuff," Brawnz said as he placed his box on the ground. Jaune let a hum to let Brawnz know he was okay with it. The two men and Jaune get the bed out and the others in the room look through all the boxes taking out his stuff. When Brawnz opened his box it was filled with even more comics. He examined them and saw Jaune was quiet the collector. _X-ray and Vav, Nomad of Nowhere, Camp Camp, Deadpool, Fables, Batman,_ and plenty more where in the box.

"Jeez," The only guy from Junior's club said. Brawnz and Dew look over at him and saw that he was looking at the comics Brawnz took out. "I knew the guy was a nerd but I didn't think he was this big of one."

"So what if I am?" Jaune said as he leaned on the door. Junior's guy just shrugged.

"Nothing wrong with it but this is almost borderline obsessive dude." Jaune flipped him off and the goon returned the favor. Meanwhile Dew stood up and put her hands up.

"Girls you're both beautiful," she joked. She then pointed her thumb at Jaune. "Now shut up and let's get the rest of the idiots stuff before someone gets ideas and takes them." Jaune chuckled and pointed his thumb out his door.

"Yeah Octavia and the other guys already headed out to grab my couch, no point in making them do all the work." With a nod everyone stood up and began to head outside. As they did Dew and Brawnz noticed that Jaune and his ex co-worker were lagging behind to talk.

"I'm telling you Jaune," the goon started. "After Melanie saw your fight in the Shade bar, she got mad that you couldn't get any good kicks in; something about 'waste of her training' or something like that." The two share a laugh.

"Yeah sounds like something she'd say," Jaune said as he rubbed the back of his head. He looked at the ground as a question was swirling around his head. "How's everyone doing anyway?" The goon hummed and put his hands behind his head.

"Well, no one will admit it but we kind of miss having you around." The goon smiled at Jaune and Jaune let out a tiny laugh. "Nah I'm serious Jaune. Despite how much shit we gave you, and how you didn't agree with our…" The goon looked at Brawnz and Dew to see that they were too busy talking with each other to notice them. "Other business, you were a good worker and didn't sell us out. Not to mention Junior still saw you like a son half the time." Jaune smiled as he looked at the ground.

"I won't lie; I sometimes miss the bar as well." Jaune motioned all around him. "Yet, I feel like this is where I belong, you know?" The goon slaps Jaune on the back.

"Like Junior said when you left, we'll support you Jaune. Even when you aren't with us, we'll be there for you when you need us. You're family." Jaune smiled at that. It was nice to get reminded he still had options if he got kicked out of Shade. Jaune shook that though thought of his head. He belonged here, he's proven it time and time again. That didn't mean there weren't times he second guessed himself though.

"What the hell?!" Brawnz yelled in front of them. The goon and Jaune were so wrapped up in their conversation they didn't realize they were back outside with Jaune's stuff. However the scene they found was… interesting. Octavia had her hands up and was walking away from the scene. When Jaune and the others looked at her she shrugged her shoulders and mouthed "I didn't know what to do!" Jaune couldn't blame her.

One of the goons had somehow gotten half of his body shoved into the mini fridge Jaune had. Another one was still trying to shove him in, obviously mad at something the other did. Whatever that was. The other two were just cheering him on. Jaune let out a sigh and walked toward them.

"What the heck guys?" Jaune yelled gaining the attention of the gangsters. They freeze with fear and slowly turn to Jaune who looked mad. He then pointed at the goon who was stuck in the fridge. "I thought I told you he goes in the freezer, not the fridge!" There is a moment of silence, and then laughter coming from the goons and Jaune. Well, except the guy in the fridge.

"You guys are assholes!" He yelled. Jaune recovered from laughing and cleared his throat.

"Seriously though, get him out, I don't want him hurt, or to break my fridge." The others nodded and let the guy get out of the small fridge. He stands up and grabs his head. He realizes he is missing his hat. One of the other goons handed it to him and he took it from them.

As Brawnz, Dew and Octavia saw this going on they realized just how much of a family these guys were to Jaune. They came here to not only deliver his furniture, but to help him move it in his dorm. They can joke with him and they obviously had respect for him and he had the same amount of respect for them. Sure they may be criminals, but they can't be that bad if Jaune likes them right? Jaune turned to them and waved his hand over.

"Come on guys! Let's hurry and get my stuff inside." They snapped out of their trance and nodded their heads. When they saw that smile on his face, they saw how happy he was. Whether it was for getting furniture, having his old co-workers come over, or just have it be a mix of the two, they all couldn't help but smile as well.

 **To be continued.**

 **Beta reader: TheShadowOfZama**


	32. Arc 2 Chapter 19

Nyx continued to look at the screen with a furrowed brow on her face. Her hands were covering her mouth as she thought about what to say next. When she finally does speak, it isn't in the happy tone Ozpin was expecting.

"So… let me get this straight," She started. "You want me to approve of you sending two teams of _first years,_ over here to Shade for a joint mission." Ozpin was about to answer but Belinda continued talking. "All because they can't handle the fact that Jaune Arc, now officially one of _my_ students, isn't talking with them?" She emphasized the word "my" because from the way Ozpin talked about it, he still viewed Jaune as his student.

"Belinda, these are children who just saw their friend, whom they haven't seen in months, get in a bar brawl," Ozpin argued. "When they were able to reach out to him, to them it seemed as if he didn't want to talk. Now I know Mr. Arc and his family. He isn't one who would make his friends worry." Nyx let out a low growl, one that Ozpin didn't hear. She hated when he did stuff like this. He always made sure there were rules they had to follow like no first years going to other continents, and yet he could break those rules whenever he wanted.

"Ozpin they have to get used to the fact that they won't get everything they want in life!" Nyx's voice rose as she said that. "And from the way you were talking about it, it almost seemed to me that he _didn't_ want to talk with them. Is there something you are not telling me?" Ozpin's expression was stoic, but when you work enough years with him, you can see small subtle changes. For instance, he grips his mug a little tighter whenever he's nervous about something. That's exactly what he was doing here. Ozpin didn't tell Belinda the details Ruby told him, and it showed. Belinda didn't push but she knew she was right. She let out a long sigh. "Ozpin, you can't keep playing favorites."

"I care about all of my students, even ones who I've had to expel."

"Maybe you do, but you also play favorites all the time. Like STRQ? How'd that work out for you? One dead, another who went back to her bandit tribe, one who was so depressed he won't fight unless he has to anymore, and a drunken fool who will follow you no matter how much you put him in danger!"

"Belinda, enough." Ozpin's tone was threatening. In fact, if he used that tone on any of his students they probably would have stopped talking altogether. Belinda was not one of his students.

"No Ozpin!" Belinda slammed her fist on her desk. "You want to play favorites with your own students? Fine, but the minute you put my students at risk is where I draw the line."

"If you would calm down you would realize that I want a joint mission not just for the sake of my own students Belinda." Nyx clicked her tongue as she sat down in her chair again.

"Okay then, enlighten me." Ozpin took a sip from his mug and took a deep breath.

"If I recall, Mr. Arc was captured by bandits during his initiation, yes?" Belinda nodded her head. While she remained silent and stern inside she knew that Ozpin formulated a plan already. One that would get her to agree. "Tell me, do you think those bandits would just let that go so easily?" Dammit. "This is a perfect learning opportunity for our students to not only learn about international relationships with a joint mission, but depending on the mission you send them on it can give them the experience to be great huntsmen." As much as Nyx wanted to say no, deep down she knew she couldn't. Ozpin was right, for all she knew they were planning on sending someone after her students, or maybe something worse. She wouldn't give in so easily though.

"Fine, you want a joint mission I'll allow it." She sees Ozpin smile and he was about to say something but she put her finger up. "On two conditions. One: you give me a month to gather intel. I want to be absolutely sure a joint mission is needed." She put up another finger. "Two: You do not send any first years, _if_ the mission is necessary. Are we clear?" Again, Ozpin's grip around his mug tightened. After being reincarnated so many times he's used to being the one in control. Belinda is one of the very few that disagree with Ozpin being in control the entire time. She expected him to try and come with a counter argument but to her surprise he nodded his head.

"Very well, that sounds reasonable." He takes out a pen and paper and writes down something. "Please keep me informed if anything comes up." Belinda took a moment to think. Does Ozpin really trust her or is he planning something else? She shook her head. This is what Ozpin was good at. Whether it was directed at their enemies or allies, Ozpin knew how to mess with people's heads.

"I will… thank you for letting me have a little time Oz." Ozpin flashes her a smile, and the two hang up. When she did Nyx let out a tiny groan and let her head hit her desk. She respected Ozpin. Sure, he was a reincarnated wizard, but he was still doing what's best for the world. Yet at certain times, it seemed like he was only doing what's best for him. He always wants to grow the huntsmen and huntresses into an army to defeat Salem, and over the years Nyx began to think it was also beause he wanted power. Sure, it wasn't "rule the world" or "destroy humanity" power. Yet there were times were Ozpin let recruitment for his little faction get in the way of the bigger picture. It was what caused his last death in the first place.

Still, Ozpin did bring up a good point about the bandits. They would want revenge against Shade not only for having students escaping, but destroying their base as well. She needed to get info just to be safe. Getting a couple of huntsmen to tail the bandits won't be too hard, it's just whether or not they succeed. In cities tailing someone is easy as they have corners buildings and distractions. In the desert it's nothing but openness, hot air, and sand for miles which made tailing ten time harder. Still she trusted her huntsmen to do their job well.

She'll have to make a few calls and see who's willing to do the job, but after that it should be smooth sailing. Right now she needed to focus on her headmistress duty. For instance the missions she needed to send the operators-in-training on for the coming week. Which also meant Jaune's first mission.

She sighed. After getting Michael's report about how Jaune acted during combat class today, she wasn't sure if he was ready for a mission so soon. She instructed Michael that he is to not let the blonde fight for the rest of the week, so hopefully that will be enough for Jaune to rest a little bit.

She also had to figure out who would be the best supervisor for him as well. Operator or not he was still a first year and the rules state any first year missions needs an expert huntsman to supervise. Maybe she'll have one of the teachers go with him, since he'll probably feel more comfortable working with someone he at least knows.

All of these thoughts were her main focus, but there was at least one that kept nagging her. If Ozpin was right about the bandits, what are they doing now?

 **Somewhere in the Vacuan Desert:**

A shoddy looking ten foot metal fence was in the form of a ring. Two gates were placed in front of the town and up top were three snipers in a decent sized nest. They were wearing black unzipped sweatshirts with a grey t-shirt. They also wore grey track pants and black sneakers. They all had caps and bandanas around their face to protect it from the hot blazing sun. Around their nest were chairs, ammo crates, beer and soda bottles, some food wrappers and plates, sunscreen for their shift, walkie-talkies and of course their rifles. Two were relaxing in their chairs while the other one was actually doing his job. The three have a system where they trade out every so often so that it wasn't one person doing it the entire time.

The one on lookout saw a big dust cloud rolling up on them. At first he thought it was just the wind but the dust cloud kept coming closer and closer. He took out his binoculars to get a better look at the dust cloud. He was expecting it to be a hoard of grimm or something but he got something better… or far worst. It was a bunch of shabby vehicles from buggies to cars and trucks all coming towards their town.

"Guys we may have a problem…" He said. The other two stood up and looked to where the first one was pointing to see the dust cloud. He handed his friend the binoculars and hard her hum. "You see the buggies and crap right?" the guy asked.

"I also see the yellow flag on most of the vehicles," She said as she adjusted the binoculars. Yellow flags often meant they wanted to trade. Normally that would be okay but the thing is you don't need an army for a trade. The girl adjusts the binoculars again and lets out a stifled groan. "I also see a purple flag."

This caused the two males to look at her with disbelief in their eyes. A purple flag meant that the leader of the group was with them. This practically spelled trouble. One of them grabs a walkie-talkie they had around the nest and talks into it.

"Guys we got a problem at the front gate," The sniper said calmly. He let go of the button to wait for a response from the boss's house. About three seconds go by before they get a response.

"What did one of you pass out on the job again?" the female voice on the other line joked. Normally they would poke fun at how her job is literally sitting on her ass doing nothing too, but this was too serieous.

"We got an army of vehicles heading our way with the yellow flag on them."

"How's that a problem?" The sniper took a deep breath.

"They also have a purple flag flying as well." There is about five seconds of silence before the joking tone in the communications girl is replaced with a serious one.

"How many are there?" The sniper with the walkie talkie turned to the female sniper who was counting the vehicles. She then snatched the walkie and spoke.

"Jess there's about fifteen and they're all filled up!" She practically yelled that into the walkie. "Tell the boss!"

"All right all right!" there was panic in jess's voice. "Keep your sights pinned on them but keep your finger off the trigger. Don't shoot unless they attack first understood?"

"Yeah we got it," the three snipers said in unison. The three of them look at each other and nod their heads. The two guys climb down the ladder and leave the nest and run along the wall to stay spread out. Despite being a shoddy looking wall, it was still wide enough for people to traverse it and go to different towers.

The three of them line up their snipers and just wait for anything to signal that they can open fire.

 **A few minutes later**

All of the vehicles slowed down as they get closer and closer to the town. All of the vehicles power slide to a halt as they get about fifty feet from the metal wall. Most of the people who had their windows facing the wall didn't bother getting out of their seats and just pointed their weapons out of their windows. A couple did get out but kept their guns pinned at the people on the wall and the guards in front of the gate. Some of them took cover behind the hood of their vehicles while others sat on the windows and peered over the roof of their vehicles.

The people that were standing guard in front of the gate kept their guns aimed at one or two people, waiting for the one bullet to set it off. The people on top of the wall did the same. The tension in the air was so thick that it felt like breathing would be the thing that sets someone off.

Three doors from the middle truck open up, and three figures reveal themselves. One was a giant behemoth of a man who went by the nickname Roadhog. The other one was a smaller man with a peg leg and metal arm, was hunched over, and went by the name Junkrat. The third one was a threatening man with black buzzed cut hair and tattoos of skulls on his right arm. When everyone saw this man they felt a twinge of anger. This man was Julian Fruda and he had a history with this place.

"Hello mates!" Junkrat greeted. "Mind gettin' your boss for us? We got a bit of a business plan for him!"

"Why are you here Junkrat?" one of the guards asked. Junkrat and his crew turned slowly to him with the dumbstruck look on their faces.

"He just said why dumbass," One of the other guard commented.

"Well I'm sorry but that's what you're supposed to say when they roll up on us like that!"

"Not when they explain why they are here!"

"Enough," a voice full of authority said. Everyone turns to the new voice to see a man with dark red hair and a full dark beard. He had a tattoo of a cross on his left cheek and had silver stud earings. He was a short man with a skinny build and had a cane with a dragon as the handle gripped in his right hand. He was wearing a light blue robe that covered his entire body. He was also wearing sandles.

This was the town's leader, Adam Tior.

Adam took a step forward and Junkrat and his posse did the same. Both parties gangs kept their sights on the other gang. They were ready to fire the minute something happened. The two leaders walked up to each other and stopped when they were only two feet apart. Adam had a stoic look on his face while Junkrat had his usual manic grin.

"Adam!" he said as he stuck his hand out. "It's been a while." Adam smiled back at the blonde.

"Jamison," he said as she shook the robotic hand of the explosives-obsessed man. "Now you're giving me mixed signals here old friend."

"How so?" Adam pointed at all of Junkrat's men.

"Well for starters you have an entire army at my wall." He then points at a yellow flag with his cane. "Yet you also have the trading flag up. Not to mention you are here as well. Last I checked you don't send the leader and an army for a trade." He then points at Roadhog and Julian. "You also brought your body guard here with you, along with one of my best lieutenants." Julian gives a nod to Adam.

"Hey Boss," he said. Junkrat could still hear the respect and admiration in Julian's voice but he couldn't blame the guy. Adam's been in the bandit business far longer than any of them have. That's why Junkrat respected him so much. The only reason he had his guys pointing guns at Adam's guys was for safety reasons. Even if the leaders respected each other, bandits will always be bandits.

"I see Jamison is treating you well." Julian let out a tiny chuckle.

"I became his left hand man after Eric went and left us." Adam quirked an eyebrow.

"I thought I noticed someone was missing. Jamison what happened to the pervert?" Junkrat let out a scowl. Adam noticed a lot of Junkrats' men were sharing a similar expression.

"The bastard got kicked out," Junkrat said.

"Why?"

"Impatient," Roadhog muttered. Adam looked at the big man and then back at Junkrat, waiting for an answer.

"He didn't want to wait out this plan I had," Junkrat explained. "In fact, the plan involves you and every one of your mates." Adam's eyes widen in surprise. Junkrat has a plan that involved him? He's known Junkrat for a while and he doesn't usually plan things out. Not unless it's something big.

"What is it?"

"Boss are you sure?" one of the guards asked. Adam held up his hand to silent the guard. He nodded his head and took a step back.

"What is this plan of yours?"

"Now hear me out on this. You know how a few years before we were kiddies that Shade got attacked by bandits and nearly succeeded?"

"You want to try and replicate that? Why go through the trouble?" Junkrat took a minute to think. This caused Adam to raise an eyebrow. If he was so sure, why would he be scared to tell Adam?

"I won't lie, it's mostly revenge," Junkrat answered. "It started when those Shade brats burned down our home. So now I'm thinking we return the favor." This caused Adam to let out a grunt.

"I don't deal with revenge plans Jamison." Junkrat held his hands up in protest.

"I know that, but think about it. Vale was taken by surprise with both attacks. That means it's not impossible to take out the cities. Once we bring down Shade, we don't have to worry about any huntsmen and huntresses messing with us anymore. No more Laws that punish us for trying to survive!"

Adam could see where Junkrat was coming from. For the past few decades Shade's slowly been trying to turn Vacuo into a more… proper country is the best way to put it. That meant more laws were put in place to keep people under control. Laws such as giving Shade some of the dust that was mined up in towns to supply the huntsmen, paying for having professional huntsmen protect your town when half the time they are drunk off their ass and can't defend anything, and so much more. That was one of the reasons Adam turned to banditry. His town had paid for some of the best huntsmen ever to protect the town. Yet when the grimm attacked, the so-called "Professionals" were either nowhere to be seen or were too pissed off their rocker to do anything.

Adam saw the town he grew up in die that day, and he had to learn to steal to survive. Slowly but surely he met others who turned to thievery for one reason or another and eventually grew into the giant bandit tribe he had today.

Adam looked down at the sand. His crew saw this and began whispering to each other. they were wondering what their leader was going to choose. They would support their leader no matter his choice, but that doesn't mean people were going to agree with it.

"What do you need from us?" Adam asked. Members of both sides looked at each other and slowly lowered their weapons. Some kept their weapons up but everyone was a little less tense.

"We'll need your help recruiting more people to the cause," Junkrat started. "We'll also need a new place to call home. You mind if a bunk with you lot?" Adam began to chuckle and walk up to Junkrat.

"Welcome to your new base James." He stuck out his hand again and Junkrat smiled. The two shake hands and the tension in the air was relieved almost instantly. Junkrat motioned Roadhog to come over to him. The big man did as he was told and Junkrat turned to face him.

"Roadie can you make sure no one kills anyone?" the masked man nodded his head. "Cool. Jules!" the tattooed man looked at his current boss. "I want you to help Roadie out, got it?"

"You got it boss." Junkrat smiled and turned back to continue his conversation with Adam. As he did Roadie motioned everyone to get moving while Julian shouted orders. The two leaders walked towards the town. Adam pointed at one of his guards.

"Treat them like they are one of our own. Understood?" he asked them. All of them nodded their heads.

"Yes sir!" they called out. Adam smiled as everyone began to move and work on the new situation.

"Let's grab a drink at the town hall James," Adam said. "In honor of our new partnership." Junkrat chuckled maniacly.

"Well, you can't have a war plan without being pissed. There's no fun in it!"

 **To be continued.**

 **Beta: TheShadowOfZama**


	33. Arc 2 Chapter 20

The rest of the day was rather uneventful for Jaune. After Junior's men finished moving his furniture, they said they had to be somewhere else. After a couple of goodbyes, the men left Jaune and his friends. When they left, the four teens got started working on his room.

After many hours of sorting, moving furniture, setting up cables and wires, more furniture moving, furniture removal, even more furniture moving, and getting rid of the boxes, the room was furnished with what they had

Jaune wanted to get rid of two beds to make room for a two seat couch, which was done. If you stood in the stores entrance, you would see that the couch sat in the middle of the room facing the right with the TV sitting on the stand placed across from it with the stand and TV up against the wall. On the right of the TV, which was pretty close to the door, laid the mini fridge he had. While it was currently empty he had plans of filling it up with snack and food once he got enough money. On the left side of the room next to the window was a swivel chair pushed up against a desk that had a computer on it. This was his personal computer that he left back at Vale. On the farthest wall were the two beds and dressers. Finally, on the wall with the door was a bookcase filled with books and comics that the blonde had. His rocket locker was in between the bookcase and the door. Posters of many things spiced up the walls a little bit. There were a couple of posters of bands Jaune listened to, a couple of TV and movie posters as well. The place looked almost like a bachelor pad.

Jaune was proud that he was able to get his room done with and out of the way. Of course, he knows he couldn't have done it by himself. He made sure to thank Dew, Octavia, and Brawnz for their help. They said they were glad to help and as long as they got to hang out here from time to time they figured that would be payment enough. Even they get sick of their dorms every now and then, and since the boy only had two beds, the room can be a pretty awesome party room due to the extra space.

After that it was around dinner time and the rest of the day went by in a flash. In fact, the whole week went by in a flash.

Classes were going like normal, with a ton of homework and classwork of course. Jaune slowly learned the little ticks of his teachers and peers throughout the week. For instance, Mr. Wolff always had a weapon in the room next to him as he was taught to always be prepared. Nolan would tend to goof off in class yet still somehow get the information. A couple of students would sometime be late with a couple of bruises and cuts on them. Their excuse was they were in a fight and most of the teachers, not all of them though, would accept that as an excusable tardiness.

His theory about the NDGO girls proved right when someone asked Nebula out before class. When the guy wouldn't take no for an answer, she flipped him over her desk and continued as if nothing happened. Octavia and Roy would often sit together and discuss what kind of weird contraptions they can think of next. Jaune was unfortunate enough to be a test subject for one of them. When he sat down for Grimm studies Octavia gave him a small device and told him to keep an eye on it. When he did it released a foul stench that filled his nostrils, making it hard for him to focus as the stench stayed with him for the rest of the day.

The weird thing was, he just accepted these things for what they were.

It was small moments like that Jaune realized that he was finally settled in. He remembered all the weirdness of Beacon when he first got there, and how fun it was when he got used to it. Now that feeling was with Shade. It brought a smile to the blonde's lips.

Not only that, but Dr. Leonardo was able to schedule a therapist for his nightmares this week as well. His first session was at the end of the week and when he went there he was surprised by how comfortable she made it for him. His therapist was a rabbit faunus named Jasmine with black ears and kind brown eyes. The first session was just a conversation about getting to know each other and for Jaune to just explain some of the nightmares he was having. After he was done explaining his nightmares his time was up. She explained that she'll try to think of a way to help him push through them and to come to her if the nightmares ever get worst.

However, Jaune had to believe that his most crowning moment was finding out more about his semblance. Due to him not being able to participate in combat class, he was only allowed to watch the fights that happened in them.

* * *

Jaune watched with intensity as the fought waged on. Right now it was Clayton facing off against a male student with a rifle with a lot of dust compartments. So it was basically revolvers vs assault rifle. Right now Clayton seemed to be beating the guy fairly easily. He was surprised at how masterful Clayton was at dual wielding revolvers.

Not to mention how familiar the technique looked. The knight could have sworn he's seen the technique before. It wasn't Ren's style. As crazy as it sounded, Ren's was a little more gung-ho. This seemed to be a little more… restrictive in a way; more controlled. From the switching of revolvers to the reloading, it all had a mix between flair and controlled.

He also found out in this battle why Clayton had four revolvers. Two were filled with regular bullets. The other two were filled with dust bullets. Clayton kept the dust guns in the back while keeping his normal ones on his sides.

As the fight went one, Jaune remembered something from initiation. He remembered how he was able to control part of his semblance if only for a little bit. All he had to do was concentrate and focus his aura to his head. So as the fight continued, he took a deep breath and focused his aura to his head; specifically, to his eyes. When he opened them, he is met with a familiar red tint in his eyes. When the boy focuses in on Clayton, the white text appears again.

 _ **Scanning…**_

A couple of seconds go by and the info appears on the left side of Jaune's vision.

 _ **Name: Clayton Marston**_

 _ **School: Shade**_

 _ **Weapon(s): Four S &W Model 29 revolvers. Two with Dust rounds. Two with regular.**_

 _ **Semblance: ?**_

 _ **Age: 18**_

Jaune lost focus as the text appeared. He began to blink rapidly as if he was trying to figure out if this was real. Sure enough, it was.

What he found funny was the info that was shown was stuff he had somewhat known. The only new information to him was the age and the type of revolvers Clayton had. The blonde took a moment to think about this revelation. He tries to piece everything he has seen with these eyes when his vision was tinted red.

" _I got information from people and certain things, suggestions to do when in a tense situation, and I was able to learn new info,"_ He hypothesized. _"Almost like a heads-up display in a video game."_ However, this brought up another question for Jaune.

What were the purple and green visions?

He is shaken from his thoughts when he feels something hit the side of his head. He rubs the spot where he was hit and turns to find Dew had flicked a bottle cap from her water at him.

"You good dude?" She asked. Jaune asked why he wouldn't. "Because you're staring intently at the fight with red eyes and muttering to yourself." He shakes his head and rubs his eyes. Did his eyes change color when he did this? It clicked in his head why Maria was able to see part of his eyes during their fight.

"So my eyes are red right now?" he asked. NDGO nodded their heads. Jaune closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He slowly stops focusing his aura around his head and opened his eyes up to see his vision was back to normal. "What about now?"

"No way," Nebula said in disbelief. "How'd you do that?" All of NDGO had quizzical looks on their faces causing the blonde to chuckle and scratch his head.

"I think it's his semblance," Octavia answered for him. Jaune pointed at Octavia.

"I think she's right." NDGO began pelting him with questions about his semblance. What was it? How strong was it? Was it offensive or defensive? He put his hands up to calm them down. "Look, I don't know all of the details about it, all right? I just need to do a little experimenting to figure it out." NDGO nodded in understanding. After that, the five of them continued watching the fight.

The student with the assault rifle charged at Clayton as he shifted the assault rifle to a large broadsword. He swings down hard enough to break the concrete but Clayton was able to roll out of the way. He gets some distance and pulled out one of his regular revolvers and pelts the guy with a couple of rounds.

The other student switched back to assault rifle mode and fired a small burst of bullets into Clayton, having his aura dip a little bit. Seeing as how this was an open arena, Clayton could only try and dodge bullets.

With Clayton stunned a little the other student charged at him again. He switched back to greatsword mode and swung horizontally. Clayton ducked in time and took down the student with a takedown. Jaune expected him to take out his guns and fire rapidly into the student but the cowboy kept them holstered.

He mounted the student and began a flurry of punches. The student tries to reach for Clayton's gun but Clayton slams his hand to the ground to prevent it. He then somehow knees the guy in the face and then in a swift motion puts the man in an armbar. The student tries to grasp for his sword but to no avail. He does, however, grab a stone. The student grips the stone tightly and tries his best to hit Clayton in one of his legs. It succeeds and Clayton loosened up just enough for the student to snake his way out.

The two of them get some distance from each other. As the student runs toward his weapon Clayton pulled out his Dust pistol and shot a shock round into the student's sword. When the student got to it not only was he shocked, but after recovering he couldn't switch it back to gun mode, making him an easy target to Clayton's ranged attacks.

What Jaune found interesting is that despite his look, Clayton always seemed to stay at long to mid-range with his shots. Jaune may be stereotyping here, but he expected Clayton to be all rootin' tootin' shoot at anything that moves kind of guy. Yet his aim and his skill seemed to be more than just "Aim and shoot."

So he decided to test his semblance again. His vision turned red as he concentrated his aura around his head again. He kept a close eye on Clayton as he did his moves. He took in any detail he could remember and his semblance did help. With every move Clayton did, his semblance seemed to have a white outline around Clayton's body with the words _**"scanning"**_ on the outside of them.

After a few minutes of fighting, the text of his aura finished with " _ **Scan complete"**_ on the top corner of his vision. All of a sudden his vision was filled with a small set of facts.

 _ **Fighting Style: Atlasian Akimbo, a style that was originally taught in Atlas for its showier move set than actual practicality. Over the years certain huntsmen were able to use its effectiveness in battle. It has gained popularity since then. It keeps the duel wielding skills and tricks used in performances and mixes it with Atlasian soldier training to make an effective gunslinger.**_

 _ **Most effective in short or mid-ranged fights.**_

As Jaune read the information, it finally clicked where he saw this technique.

 **Arc Household: a few years ago:**

The sound of multiple guns go off in the woods near the Arc household. Michael Arc had a make shift range in his backyard and often let his kids use it as long as he, their grandad, or their mother were around to watch them.

Right now, Samantha Arc had just returned from Atlas for a few days and decided to show her ten year old little sister, Jade, a few things she learned. One of her favorite techniques was the Akimbo style shooting she was learning there. However, she didn't want her little sister to hurt herself so she was just teaching her how to properly shoot a gun while she practiced her akimbo.

When Jade's gun got jammed, she thought it was empty and accidently pointed it at her sister as she examined it. Sam was smart enough to get out of the barrels way and sternly scold her sister about proper barrel control.

As she was scolding her however, Jade's twin Jaune came out and was wondering what his twin and older sister were doing. When he found out that Sam was teaching Jade something he got annoyed.

"Why does she get to learn and I don't?" he complained. Samantha was going to say because Jade asked her about the new stuff she learned at Atlas. Of course, Jade decided to be an annoying sister and taunt Jaune instead.

"Because I'm older than you that's why!" Again Sam tried to explain that it was just because Jade asked first. However the two began to argue and she knew better than anyone to not bug an Arc sibling fight.

"Why do you always bring that up? Mom says its only by seven minutes!"

"Yeah but it still makes me older than you!"

Sam sighed and put down her pistols, while making sure their empty and the safety's off of course. She knew she had to make sure the two twins wouldn't kill each other as they began to escalate into a shoving match. Jade shoved Jaune which caused the boy to stumble back.

"Jerk!" she yelled. Jaune got back up and shoved his sister back.

"Loser!"

"Spaz!"

"Bitch!"

The minute that came out of her brother's mouth Sam was up in his face and grabbing his arm. Jaune winced in pain as Sam stared him dead in the eye. Any anger between the two of them was replaced with fear. He feared what Sam would do to him, and Jade was scared for her brother.

"Where did you hear that word?" Sam said threateningly. Her younger brother was shaking with so much fear that he didn't answer. Sam tightened her grip and spoke in a low stern voice. "Answer. Me."

"O-on the TV!" He yelped out. "W-why it's just a word…"

"Never say that word to a girl, especially your sisters. It's a bad word and if any of us catch you hearing it you'll be in big trouble. Understand?" Jaune nodded his head quickly. Sam gave him a glare but lessened her grip. She then turned over to Jade who was watching all of this unfold.

"And you," Sam said as she pointed to her sister. Jade tensed up as she was called out. "Whatever it was that caused you to make fun of Jaune ends now, got it?" Jade nodded her head. Sam takes a deep breath and lets her brother go and goes over to the range again. As she did she heard the twins apologize to each other.

"I'm sorry I called you… that word," Jaune said as he rubbed his arm.

"I'm sorry I pushed your buttons," Jade said. She opens her arms and has an awkward smile. "Twin apology hug?"

He chuckles at the awkwardness and hugs his twin sister. Sam was glad she was able to stop the two from killing each other before it escalated. With them making up, she turns towards them and grabs their attention.

"Now that you two are done being brats, want to see the Atlasian Akimbo I learned at Atlas?" she waved two guns to add emphasis. "It uses two guns~!" she said in a singsong voice. Both Jade and Jaune's eyes lit up when she mentioned the two guns.

* * *

As Jaune remembered that day he felt a little sorrow in his heart. He may have found out what Marston was using and a little bit more about his semblance, but it reminded him of his family. He had to wonder… they still loved him… right?

" _Of_ course _they don't,"_ Jaune thought bitterly. " _I've been gone for months and haven't heard anything from them. At least my old team's trying to reconnect with me. It's more than I can say for my family."_

He was shaken from his thoughts when he felt a hand clamp on his shoulder. he turns to see it belonged to Octavia of NDGO. "You all right dude?" she asked. "You seemed out of it." He rubbed his face.

"Yeah I'm fine…" he said. Despite that the four girls could tell he was not fine from his tone. Nebula decided to push her luck.

"You sure Jaune?" she asked him. The blonde goof just nodded his head but still had a somber look on his face.

"I'm sure. I'm just… remembering home." The girls of NDGO all looked at each other. Jaune never really talked about his home and from the look on his face it was definitely a sensitive topic.

"Well, we're here if you need to talk dude," Dew said without any snark. Jaune appreciated and nodded his head but stayed silent. JHe tried to be happy. After all, he just found out more about his semblance! Yet he couldn't shake the thoughts of his family. The Arc tried to shake thehomesicknesss for the rest of the day.

 **Present day:**

Ever since Jaune found out about his semblance, he did a little bit more testing with it.

During a fight that Gwen had, he used his semblance to try and recall his purple vision he got at initiation. Apparently it was a sort of "aura tracker" that could sense the use of aura and semblances, as he was able to see roughly where Gwen was when she turned invisible. Granted it took about 60% of his aura when he used it for about a minute but he chalked it up as needing to practice it more.

The green vision he had was a sort of "clear vision" kind of thing. He was able to see in the dark and since he was able to see through the smoke during his fight with Maria, he figured it made his vision clear. Granted the setback was it slowly drained his aura, not as fast as his aura seeking but not as slow as his HUD vision, but still enough to tire him. It also made it so his eyes would glow green which meant he had to find a way to dim them so it wasn't obvious.

Since Jaune couldn't fight to train for the rest of the week he spent the majority of it in the gym. That was where he was right now, or at least he was in the public locker room grabbing his gear as he left for the day. Since his own Rocket locker was in his room, he learned that he could use some of the school's public lockers for a little bit so he didn't have to drag his stuff everywhere. As long as he had his own lock and kept track of his stuff the school was okay with it. He thought he had a good workout as he had a lot of sweat dripping down his face.

As he was packing up he heard a group of voices walk into the locker room. He puts on his shirt and turns to the voices to see Brandon, Gwen's boyfriend, talking with two other guys. Brandon saw Jaune and walked up to the blonde with a smile on his face.

"'Sup Jaune?" Brandon greeted. The blonde boy gave a nod back and closed the locker he had.

"Hey Brandon," the blonde responded.

"So did you have a decent workout?" Brandon asked. Jaune said yes and the two began to get into a discussion about both their workout routines. Apparently, they got so engrossed with it, neither of them noticed that Brandon's friends left them. "Well shit. Sorry Jaune, I didn't mean to take up this much of your time."

"It's all right dude." Jaune got up and gave him a two-fingered salute. "I'll see you around."

"Actually, hang on I forgot to ask you something!" Jaune tilted his head as Brandon stood up and looked him directly in the eye. "Are you coming onto Gwen?" The sweaty boy was taken back by the sudden question.

"No! I'd never do that, why?" Brandon squinted at him, almost as if he wasn't believing him.

"Because I heard that Gwen had her arm around your shoulder after you guys fought Maria." Jaune had his hands up in defense when Brandon said that.

"Dude I was half-conscious at the time and passed out. She was just helping me that's all." Again, Brandon just stared at him. Then he starts laughing.

"I'm sorry dude! I must have taken my friend's word out of context. He made it sound like you two were clinging to each other as a reward or something. I mean you don't seem the type to try and steal another's girlfriend… right?" While Brandon asked that in a joking tone, Jaune had heard the icy undertone in his voice. To a normal person, it would have just sounded like Brandon was just joking, but Jaune lived in a house where you had to read undertones or else you'd misinterpret something. Brandon was accusing Jaune.

"Of course not!" He said in a light tone. He needed to make it seem like he didn't hear the accusation in the second year's voice. "My sisters would gut me alive if I did that." The two shared a laugh, but Jaune felt uneasy as he did. Eventually, the two left the locker room and went their separate ways.

Jaune took deep breathes as he returned to his room. Brandon's jealousy was a little… intense to say the least; maybe even a little too intense. His older sister Dakota had a boyfriend just like that and… well let's just say that wasn't the healthiest of relationships.

He decided to keep this in the back of his head. He wasn't going to call either of them out on it. He just met Brandon and it wasn't his place to butt into their relationship; at least not yet. Although, perhaps if he hinted it towards NDGO?

He shook his head. He needed to clear his thoughts and nothing did that than watching mindless TV for an hour or three. Of course, that was after he took a shower. With a plan in mind, the yellow-haired kid headed to his room with determination. Of course, this was Jaune, nothing happens the way he expected it.

As soon as he opened his door he is greeted by NDGO and BRNZ. Apparently, they made themselves comfortable as they all seemed to be doing various activities. When he opened the door though, they all turned to him and said in unison: "Surprise!"

The blonde knight was silent with a dead look on his face. He asked one blank question. "Why?"

"Main reason?" Nebula said. She was on one of the beds with a small pile of his comics lying next to her. "Since you got done moving in think of it as a housewarming party."

"The other reason is that this place is pretty comfy without the extra beds and we wanted to try it out," Roy said as he muted the TV. Jaune felt his eye twitch.

"You guys broke into my dorm," he listed. "Used my stuff, more than likely went through my personal belongings, and expect me to be okay with it just because it's a surprise party?" Jaune saw a couple of them tense up as he said that. He then gave a sigh broke into his grin. "I should be mad, but for some reason I can't find myself to be."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when he said that. Now, if this was Beacon, he more than likely would be angry at the fact that they did this. However after hanging out with these two teams for a school week and his initiation he's come to realize that this was just how they rolled. Honestly, he kind of liked it.

"Just promise me you guys won't break in next time?" While all of them gave various versions of no, he could tell that they were joking.

"All right I promise not to make Gwen pick the lock next time we decide to come over," Octavia said. Jaune gave a tiny chuckle and caught a soda that Brawnz tossed at him.

"Well are you going to sit there standing like a log or are you going to hang out with us?" he asked. Jaune smiled and tossed his gear to the side and decided to enjoy a little bonding time with his friends.

 **To be Continued.**

 **A/N Hey guys! I know it's been a long time since I last updated and the reason is because I got a little lazy with writing for summer. I'm sorry for that. I'll try to get the final chapter posted for this Arc as soon as I can. I know this hasn't exactly been the most action filled arc but I promise you the next one will be a lot better. Anyway I hope you guys enjoyed and Stay tuned for the last arc chapter!**


	34. Arc 2 Finale

"Come on Brawnz kick his ass!" Roy cheered on.

"Get a couple hits in Jaune!" Nolan called.

"No no no!" Dew cried.

"Quick stab him!" Octavia screamed.

"Almost got it!" Jaune yelled.

The TV flashed as Brawnz's character was sent flying outside the ring. A "player 2 wins!" logo was going across the screen as half of the room was cheering. The other half was groaning and hitting Brawnz.

"I lost fifteen lien Brawnz. Thanks!" Roy sarcastically said. His leader flipped him the bird which was returned with a smack in the head from May. Nolan then elbowed May and soon all of BRNZ was sissy fighting each other.

"Please don't fight each other," Jaune said but to no avail. The only response he got was some groaning from Brawnz as his team continued to punch him. He reached out for NDGO and Jaune.

"Jaune! Girls, anyone please help!" he called out.

"Should we help him?" Dew asked with a hand on her hip.

"I can't I'm too busy reading this," Nebula replied as she showed a "Camp Camp" comic book. It was a favorite issue of Jaune's where a rival camp accidentally became drug lords without even realizing it.

"And I'm too lazy to want to help out," Octavia added. Gwen just shook her head no. Jaune shrugged his shoulders and turned back to Brawnz.

"Sorry Brawnz, we can't help you," he said.

"I hate all of you!" Brawnz yelped just before he got punched in the face by Roy. After another ten seconds Brawnz was able slam his fist into the ground and push his team off of him. "Enough!" he yelled. The room fell silent as he tried to gain his breath back. And then Nolan yelled.

"DOGPILE!"

"No don't!" Jaune yelled out but to no avail.

Brawnz let out a girlish scream as everyone sans Jaune, stopped what they were doing and launched themselves at him. There was a small scuffle for about ten seconds before everyone stopped. When they all looked at their surroundings, they found that Brawnz was actually out of the dogpile. He laughed joyously when he realized he survived the attack.

"HAH! Suck it!" He taunted. Jaune sighed in relief at the fact that despite a giant human dogpile just happened, nothing was destroyed.

"Wait, so who's on the bottom?" he asked. As the students slowly got up it was revealed that it was Nolan at the bottom of the pile. He let out a weak moan.

"Well that didn't go as planned did it genius?" Dew said sarcastically.

"Nope…" he moaned out. Jaune rolled his eyes and helped the red head up. He dusted himself off and nodded at him. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." The two smiled and everyone slowly went back to a chair or sofa to relax again. Jaune changed the TV from the console to the regular channel and began to flip through the channels. It eventually landed on a show about two brothers hunting paranormal beings, other than grimm of course.

"Love this show!" Octavia said.

"Please it's cliché garbage," Dew remarked. Roy pointed his thumb at her.

"Amen to that sister," he agreed.

"Hey you guys are allowed to have your opinions," Jaune said. "Even if they are completely and totally wrong."

"I like it…" Gwen mumbled.

"Dude change it to something else I'm begging you," May pleaded. Jaune shook the remote in his hand.

"My TV, my remote, my room, I get to watch whatever," he listed. "The minute you have the remote you can watch whatever." He rested his arm across the sofa with the remote in his hand taunting anyone to grab it. Dew looked at Roy and the two of them nodded and lunged at it to remove it from his hand. However he tossed the remote into his other hand using just his wrist, letting his arm continue resting on the couch.

Roy tried to grab the remote again but Jaune dropped the remote on his foot and caught it so it rested there. When Dew tried to dive for it the blonde kicked the remote in the air and caught it with ease. He then turned the volume a little louder as the two of them were making a ruckus.

"Okay, how the hell are you that agile with a remote?!" Dew asked.

"House of seven sisters," was all he gave to make everyone understand. "You learn to keep things from them. Otherwise they take it, or use it as blackmail. Neither options are fun." A couple of the students chuckle as some of them know what it's like to have siblings. Still seven sisters topped all of them. While everyone either watched the show or found something else to keep them occupied, Nebula had a question for the blonde boy.

"Hey, Jaune," she said. He looked over the couch to the bed she was sitting one with a cocked eyebrow. "How come you don't talk about your sisters?" A couple of the teens stopped what they were doing to hear his response.

"What do you mean? I tell you guys about them all the time." Nebula shook her head and persisted despite getting glanced at by Dew and May.

"No, you tell us that you have sisters, but you never go beyond that." Octavia grabbed Nebula's wrist to get her attention. The red head shook her head no but Nebula kept pushing. "I just want to know more about you and your family that's all."

"What's there to tell?" Jaune said in a slightly annoyed tone. "I have seven sisters, I grew up in a big house with them, we loved each other, end of story."

"Well, can you at least tell us their names?" Jaune curled his hands into fists, something that did not go unnoticed by the others in the room. Despite that the blonde sighed and turned to Nebula again.

"From oldest to youngest it's Erica, Sammy, Dakota, Calista, Jade, me, Nerissa, and Joli."

"What are they like?" This time Dew was waving her hands and shaking her head no but Nebula still prodded. "Which one of them where you the closest with?"

"What part of we loved each other didn't you understand?" His tone started to get low and to be frank, kind of scary.

"I think there's more to that story. Jaune, I just want to―,"

"I don't want to talk about them all right?" He stood up and faced Nebula with anger in his eyes when he yelled that. The blonde and the purple haired leader stare each other down for a minute. Jaune then stood up and walked to the door. "I'll be right back." he slammed the door behind him which caused the room to shake a little bit. There is silence for a few seconds before Dew made a snide remark.

"Nice going Neb," she said.

"Shut it," Nebula retorted with venom in her words. Despite saying that part of her knew that she shouldn't have pushed the subject. As much as she wanted to apologize, she knew that he wanted to be alone. She's probably the last person he would want to talk to anyway.

* * *

The sword and shield wielder began walking down the hallway with his hands in his pockets, grumbling to himself. "Why did she have to be so persistent?" he muttered. he didn't like talking about his sisters for a couple of reasons. Sure he'll mention them but he'll never go beyond that. That's because there was one giant glaring reason that would always pop up in his head.

He missed them.

He missed all of them. What made his heart ache was the fact that they didn't miss him. His own team that he has known for only a year contacted him before his family he had for his entire life did. Now? Bringing them up just poured salt into that wound.

Jaune finally realized that he was just roaming the dorms, stopped, and sighed to himself. He went over to the nearest wall, put his back to it, and then slowly slid down until he was sitting down. He sat with his arms resting on his knees as his thoughts began to consume him.

At first it was just blaming of Nebula, forcing him to remember his sisters which lead to him wondering how they were doing. Then he reminded himself that they didn't care like his team, and his final thoughts went to wondering how JNPR were doing without him.

He lingered on that last thought for a little bit. He did promise them that he would talk with them every now and then. Seeing as how it was almost a week since they first talked, he figured now would be a good time as any. Hopefully it would keep his mind off of his sisters.

He pulled out his scroll and put in all of JNPR's numbers and created a group chat with his new scroll number. He took a deep breath and began typing.

 **Twenty minutes later.**

BRNZ and NDGO were still in Jaune's dorm but there was an uneasy tension in the air. They all assumed that he would just need a minute or two to relax and then come back in. However the fact that he was gone for so long was beginning to worry the two teams.

"I'm going to check on him," Nebula said.

"Neb you sure that's a good idea?" Octavia asked her leader. "I mean, you were the reason he left in the first place."

"I know, that's why I want to find him." She looked at her friend and gave a stern look. "I want to apologize to him. Can't do that if I'm sitting here reading his comics now can I?" Octavia shrugged her shoulders.

"Whatever you think's best, girl."

"Can I give ya my train of thoughts?" Brawnz asked the purple haired leader. She nodded her head. "Maybe you should take Nolan with you, just in case you make him angrier."

"Wait why me?" Nolan asked. He was watching the show with Brawnz and he didn't want to miss anything good that might happen.

"Because reasons." The red head glared at his leader who had a smug smirk on his face.

"I'll go with you Nebula," Roy said. "Knowing those two they'd keep arguing for hours before one of them actually goes."

"No we wouldn't!" Nolan said.

"Yes we would." Brawnz retorted.

"You wanna go Brawnz?"

"Bring it string bean!" Again the two stare at each other causing May to roll her eyes, and the rest of NDGO to chuckle at the stupid interaction.

"Let's go," Nebula said as she motioned her had to the door. Roy nodded his head and the two walked out of the room and into the hallway. As they began to walk down it, the two of them were discussing how they would find him.

"Should we call him?" Roy thought out loud.

"I think that would defeat the purpose of us leaving the room." He nodded in agreement. "Still if I was upset about my family where would I go to be alone?"

"Well personally I would go to the training area to blow off some steam."

"I'm more likely to go to my dorm to be honest."

"Well not like he could do that, we were in his dorm."

"True."

The two of them would have continued their conversation but Roy pointed down the hallway with a confused look on his face. Nebula followed his finger to a student sitting on the ground with his head between his legs. A mop of blonde hair was sticking from the top of the head. The two of them gave each other a look and nodded their heads. They slowly approached the student and Roy was the one to say something first.

"Jaune?" The student raised his head to reveal it was him, but Nebula noticed something. There was a small red tint in his eyes. Jaune bit his lower lip and looked at the floor.

"Hey," he greeted. It was barely noticeable but he sounded just a tiny bit choked up to Nebula.

"You good man?" He sighed but gave a small nod. Nebula looked at Jaune's hands to realize he had a scroll in his hand. She could also hear the slight buzz of someone texting him. "You sure?"

"I'm fine." His tone was low and still a little heated. "Just leave me alone."

"Jaune," Nebula said in an apologetic tone as she sat down next to him. "I'm sorry I brought up your sisters. I didn't realize it was a sensitive topic."

"If you're so sorry, why are you bringing it up now?" The two of them winced at the edge in his voice. Despite that the two of them went together, they had no idea how to respond to him.

"Dude she's just trying to apologize," Roy antagonized. "So would you quit acting like a…"

"Like a what?" Jaune stood up and stared Roy down as he said that. "Like a sissy? Like a bitch? Is that what you were going to say?" Roy stood his ground and stared back as well neither of them moving. Nebula did not like where this is going. It seemed like the two of them were going to start fighting any minute if this kept up. So she got in between them shoved them apart.

"Enough both of you," she threatened. She turned to Roy and pointed down the hall and whispered. "Go, I got this." Roy looked down the hallway and then back at Nebula with a cocked eyebrow. "I'm sure." Roy growled but nodded his head and left the two.

Nebula turned around to see Jaune clicking his tongue and turning away from her. He sits down and rests his back against the wall again. Nebula followed suit which caused him to scoff.

"I thought I told you to leave me alone? What are you still doing here?" Nebula tried to find the best way to cut the tension down a bit. Hopefully a little joke will at least make them a little more comfortable.

"Well during initiation you said my bedside manner sucked so now I'm just practicing it." Nebula heard another scoff.

"I said your motivational speech needs practice."

"You say potato, I say potahto."

"No one says potahto." Nebula rolled her eyes.

"You're in a different country. For all you know when we say 'hi' it could mean 'bye.'" Nebula heard a small but still audible chortle and smiled. "Did I just hear a chuckle?"

"No," Jaune said trying to keep his angry attitude. She playfully nudged his ribs which caused him to chuckle again.

"Yeah I know did. Don't hide it!" she continued to nudge him. "Come admit it you smiled!"

"Never! I want to be angry!" Despite what he said he was giggling and had a smile on his face. "Stop it! I don't want happiness!"

"Oh quit being an edgelord and smile already!" She continued to poke him and he began to poke back causing the two to laugh. Eventually Jaune put his hands up to try and block the nudges and pokes coming from her. "Submit, submit!"

"Okay okay I give up just please stop!" Nebula giggled as she pulled away and Jaune rubbed his arm as they sat back up. "I think you bruised my arm."

"Suck it up you big baby." The knight stuck his tongue out at her and she returned the favor with two middle fingers. The two then began to smile and laugh at how childish they were being. After laughing the two sat there for a good minute before Nebula spoke up again. "Hey look, I'm sorry I kept pushing you back at the dorm." Jaune sighed.

"It's not your fault," he admitted. "It's my fault for talking about them all the time but not giving details. Still, why were you so pushy?" She leans into his shoulder a little bit.

"Well why do you think we threw that party for you in the first place?"

"Because I have a lot of room compared to other dorms, because you guys like to torture me, because you want to slowly kick me out of my own room, so you guys can use it as a party room. Shall I go on?" She flicks the side of his head causing the blonde to rub it.

"No ya idiot. We did it to learn more about you. Sure, we all did your initiation with you, but we barely know anything other than the fact that you left Beacon and came here when the headmistress invited you." Jaune looked down at the ground and groaned at the fact that she was telling the truth. Truth is they may talk with each other a lot, but BRNZ and NDGO know almost nothing about him, and he knows almost nothing about them. Sure, he remembers talking with BRNZ a little bit about their pasts, but it's been so long he kind of forgot about all of it. He chuckled depressingly into his arms. Some friend he was huh?

"I'm a horrible person…" he mumbled. Nebula drew out a long hum and then spoke up.

"Maybe," she said. He looked at her with gloom on his face but saw that she had a finger on her chin with a cute yet mischievous look on her face. "But we don't know you enough to decide that do we?" There was a beat, and then the two began laughing. Nebula stands back up and offers her hand to Jaune. "So, you done being a baby?"

Jaune took a second to look at the hand but grew a tiny smirk and grabbed it. He may not want to talk about his past, but these guys shouldn't be in the dark because of it. She pulled the blonde to his feet. The two smiled at each other and began to walk back to the dorm. However just as soon as they started walking his scroll went off.

"Oh right, hang on a sec." The blonde began to tap on his scroll. Nebula looked at the scroll with slight curiosity. She remembered he had his scroll out when they found him. Not to mention she saw that he was tearing up a bit before the two of them found him. She had to wonder what was causing her friend such distraught.

As he finished up, he caught her staring and chuckled silently. He shook his scroll in her face as he closed it causing the purple haired girl to straighten up as she realized she got caught.

"You're curious about what that was huh?" Jaune asked. Nebula had a guilty look on her face as she scratched the back of her head. She nodded her head and grew a sheepish smile.

"Sorry," she said., "I know I've been kinda pushing you to be more open about yourself. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"No, it's fine but… just let me tell everyone. It's kind of a long story and it intertwines with my sisters. Plus I don't want to repeat myself." Nebula gave an understanding smile. With that the two headed back to the dorm.

 **A few minutes later.**

"Are you sure they aren't making out Roy?" Dew asked the dark-skinned boy. She was watching a different show as the one from earlier ended and she called dibs on the remote. Roy was watching the same show with her but turned to her to answer the blonde's question.

"Dude was acting all emotional like a girl on her period," Roy joked. "I highly doubt that's happening."

"I don't know dude," Octavia replied. She was reading one of the few books that Jaune had on his bookshelf. Despite having a decent sized bookshelf, it was mainly empty or filled with comics. Very few were books. "Out of all of us she hated him the least and the two seemed to grow close pretty quick."

"And if not now, they're definitely going to be banging sometime in the next month," Nolan added. He was leaning against the wall next to the door as he butted in.

"Ten lien says it's within two weeks," Roy betted.

"Oh you are on!" the two shook hands while May scoffed.

"Ya'll are fucked up you know that?" she quipped. "You do realize you just made a bet on someone else's date life?"

"Yep. Don't care," Nolan said. "Besides as long as we don't let them know who cares?"

"Let who know what?" A familiar voice said. The voice was right behind the redheaded boy which caused him to jump and scream like a little girl. As a couple of them laughed, Nolan turned around to see Jaune and Nebula standing in the doorway.

"It doesn't matter," Roy answered. "What does matter is if you're okay." Jaune cocked and eyebrow at the dark-skinned boy.

"You're singing a different tune compared to earlier. Weren't you the one who told me to man up about my problems?"

"Well you aren't acting like a little girl this time around."

"Ladies you're both beautiful, can we all be friends again?" Nebula said getting between the two of them. The two grumbled but nodded their heads. Then Roy elbowed Jaune, which Jaune retaliated with an elbow back. The two of them then began to swat at each other much to the amusement and annoyance of everyone in the room.

The two continued swatting each other until they both slapped each other in the face at the same time. Both grabbed their cheek and groan.

"Ow ow ow!" Jaune seethed.

"Agh!" Roy exclaimed. He rubbed his cheek and looked at the blonde. "Truce?"

"Yes please." The two shook hands and Jaune turned to everyone else in the room. "So uh… can I just say something to all of you?" The sincerity his tone held grabbed everyone's attention. Dew turned off the TV, Octavia set down her book and Gwen pocketed her scroll that she was on. Everyone waited for the boy to say something and it was causing the boy to be nervous. Taking a deep breath and began.

"I realize that I've been acting a little distant from you guys. Especially when it came to my life. The thing is… I'm not proud of my life." This caught everyone by surprise. Jaune always seemed to be so happy and full of light. Yet this statement seemed very out of character for him. "The reason being is… most of my life has either been boring or filled with lies and disgrace. Before Beacon I was just the son of a warrior family and the brother of seven sisters. After Beacon I was a fake trying his best to play catch up with some of the best fighters in the world. Then, after being called out, my lies came and bit me in the rear." Jaune looked down into his hands. "Finally, coming here, I'm just the fraud of Beacon pushing his luck." He squeezed his hands into fists as he made that final statement. He looked up at the students.

"This is why I was always so skittish talking about my sisters. There are somethings that are making me hate having to bring them up. I may never feel proud of some aspects of my life, but I also realize that just because I'm not proud of them doesn't mean I should bury them and get defensive whenever it's brought up. It's unfair to you guys, especially since all you want to do is be closer. I've been a horrible friend to you. I may not be proud of my history, but if you guys want to learn more about me, whether it be my past or my family..." He flashed his signature gigantic grin at them. "I'm willing to share it with you."

There is a shaky silence for a couple of seconds. Was his speech good? Bad? Cheesy? All these thoughts filled his head as he tried to read everyone. Finally, the sound of a hand clapping broke his concentration. It was May who began the slow clap.

"Good speech dude," She said. "Not the best but definitely in the top twenty." A groan is heard as Brawnz turns towards her.

"Seriously May? The guy just got something off his chest and that's what you say?"

"Well how am I supposed to react to that?! You know I don't do well with sweet and heartfelt!"

"Maybe don't be a snarky ass about it?" Nolan said.

"I'm like 75% snark!"

"So am I but you don't see me making a comment after something like that," Dew added.

"I hate all of you!"

Jaune began to laugh. These guys were his classmates. No, they were his friends. He had to admit it, there was something charming about this crew. He took a seat on the couch next to Dew and Gwen. Gwen gave him a soft smile which he returned as Dew continued to talk with May.

"Okay I think we're all getting out of hand," Nebula said gathering everyone's focus. "You heard the guy, the Jaune official Q&A is now in session. I call dibs on the first question!" The purple-haired girl looked at Jaune. "How close were you with your sisters?"

"I'd say pretty close. After all I was their only brother, so my older ones would always baby me and the younger two would look up to me. IT also helped that they would need a bit of male perspective that wasn't from dad. Although I'd have to say the ones I was closest with was Dakota, Jade, and Joli." Jaune chuckled as he recalled a memory. "In fact this one time we were in Dakota's bakery before it opened because she was babysitting us. We were bored out of our mind so Jade and I started messing around. We were playing with a foam ball and Jade chucked it at one of the doors. The thing was it was the door to the back where Dakota was prepping something. She walked through it with a tray of I think cookies and the ball hit her in the face and it caused her to drop the tray. Needless to say, she was pretty angry at us. So, both Jade and I had to remake the entire tray and couple of other chores."

"Sounds rough," May commented. He pointed at the sniper as he said the next sentence.

"It was. But she felt like she tortured us enough because when Mom and Dad picked us up she gave us both our choice of something from the bakery." The soft and warm smile he had on his face was a large indicator that he still loved his family. Deciding to move along with the questions, Brawnz went next.

"Where do you sit in the family?" He asked. Jaune tilted his head not understanding what he meant. "I mean age wise."

"Ah. Jade is my twin so I'm on the younger side of the family."

"Four older sisters?" Gwen asked. Jaune nodded his head and Gwen gave a little shudder. "I have an older sister that treats me like a kid all the time. I can't imagine what having four is like." he laughed at Gwen's comment.

"It's annoying a lot of the time, especially since I'm their only baby brother." The swordsman smiled as he recalled another memory. "Still I can't blame them. They were just trying to protect me. I mean that's why Erica trained me a little bit, remember?"

"I remember," Roy said. "I still can't believe I lost that sniping bet."

"It was beginners' luck," Jaune said with a shrug. "Anyway, any other questions?"

"You said you didn't want to talk about your sisters before," Octavia began. "Why was that?" Jaune's breath hitched. Three questions in and he's already hit with the biggest one. He knew it was coming, he just didn't expect it to be so soon.

"Well… part of it has to do with my old friends back at Beacon…"

"Was that who you were texting on you're scroll?" Nebula asked. He nodded his head.

"Yeah… See my team and old friends were able to track down my scroll number despite the fact that I changed it." Jaune chuckled weakly. "What's really funny is that Calista is a computer fanatic and could easily find my scroll number. Yet my team contacts me first." Jaune could feel some tears beginning to form but he stays strong and holds them in. "My own blood didn't even try to contact me before people I've only known for a year did." A heavy silence fills the room before Nolan said something that shocked Jaune.

"Fuck 'em."

"What?"

"Nolan…" Brawnz warned.

"I said fuck 'em." Nolan got off the ground and began to pace around. "Family is supposed to be there for you no matter what. They're supposed to make you feel like no matter what hell you go through, they'll be there for you. They're supposed to make it so you feel safe somewhere in this fucked up world." Nolan paused and began to rub his arm. This was a personal topic for him Jaune could tell.

Does Nolan have family problems as well? The red head took a deep breath and continued his monologue. "To betray you like that, are they even family?" Jaune looked at the ground and shook his head.

"I can't…" Jaune admitted. He sat down and covered his face with his hands. "I can't bring myself to hate them…"

"Why not?" Nolan seemed angry at the fact that Jaune wasn't ditching his family. The thing was…

"I don't know. Maybe it's because I know why they ditched me. Maybe it's because I think I deserve it. Maybe it's just because I have some hope that after some time has passed, they'll get over what happened."

"Jaune," May started. "Like you said, they haven't even tried to contact you. Maybe Nolan's right."

"May!" Brawnz yelled. "Jaune, belay what they said." The leader walked over and clapped a hand on his shoulder. "I think it's a good thing you still have hope for them. Family fight all the time."

"This isn't a fight Brawnz," Nolan retorted. "His family just left him like a little kid in the woods!" Nolan realized how harsh that was and turned to Jaune. "Sorry I didn't mean…"

"It's fine," Jaune said. He looked at the sniper and the redhead. "I know you two are right. Maybe it's better that I just erase them from my life. But I've been through so much with all of them that it's kind of hard to. Besides, like Brawnz said…"

* * *

" _I have some hope that they'll change their mind."_

In a household somewhere in Vale, a girl with medium-length blonde hair was packing clothes in a suitcase. Along with clothes she was also packing; shampoo, deodorant, a handheld gaming system, a couple of books and comics, and a knife held in a leather sheath. The girl was about to zip up the suitcase when her sister walked in.

"Jade, mom's been calling you for…" her older sister, Calista, had stopped dead in her tracks when she saw what Jade was doing. Her long messy brunette hair with the single streak of dark blue covered part of her face. Even so, Jade could see that Calista was confused. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing!" Jade spat out faster than lightning. Despite Calista being a bit of a shut in, Jade still feared her older sister. You never mess with an Arc, especially if they are the older sibling. Calista gave her a hard stare and crossed her arms.

"A little quick to the trigger there. Spill." Jade liked to think she had an iron will. Yet that iron crumbled to dust as her sister stared her down. Jade grumbled and zipped up her suitcase.

"I'm going to Vacuo to find Jaune," She admitted.

"Really? You're going to run away?" Jade set the suitcase on the floor and went up to her sister and pushed her.

"Don't give me that! If you love him, you know what Dad did was wrong! I'm not going to let my brother feel like no one in the family loves him anymore."

"That's a stupid move Jade," Calista said. Jade ignored her and moved past her to head to dinner, but not before forcefully bumping into Calista. Her sister than grabbed her wrist and looked her in the eye. "It's a stupid move because you don't even know where he is. Not to mention, mom and/or dad are going to wonder where you are going." Jade knew she was right, there was no point in denying the fact that she didn't really have a plan, just find Jaune.

"What do you suggest?" She asked. "And don't say nothing, or else I'm leaving, with or with out a plan." Jade's blue eyes stared into Calista's brown ones. Calista smiled at her little sister.

"Simple, little sister. But we'll discuss it after dinner, okay?" Jade was going to retaliate but the growl of both their stomachs stopped her from speaking. She laughs lightly and agrees to Calista's idea of dinner first, plan later.

* * *

"I love them too much to forget about them," Jaune finished. "If that's dumb of me, then I guess I'm dumb."

"That's the understatement of the year," Octavia joked.

"Oh come on he can't be the dumbest person alive!" Nebula said with an innocent smile. "Maybe top ten."

"More like top five," Nolan added with a chuckle.

"Can we go a day where you don't insult the poor guy?" Brawnz asked.

"No." Everyone else sans Jaune responded.

"Anyway, moving on…" Jaune said. "Any other questions?"

"What was it like at beacon?" Gwen asked. Jaune took a deep breath, knowing it would be a long story. As he began to tell some stories from beacon, and how things went for him, they began to ask other questions about him and he asked questions back. Back and forth they discussed and talked and began to learn more about each other. As they did, the world continued to turn and change as it does. The future for the students at Shade was beginning to unfold.

* * *

In a small part of the city of Vale, a group of construction workers and huntsmen, both Atlassian and Valian continue to pick up the rubble from the invasion of the White Fang and grimm. One huntsman, who was from Atlas was about to carry a bag of rubble to the transporter when he saw a couple of civilians watching them. He set the bags down and walks over to them a smile on his face.

"Can we help you guys?' he asked in a polite tone. Despite being non-threatening, a mother covered her child away from the man, and he was met with dirty looks.

"When are you leaving?" a braver soul asked the huntsman.

"Excuse me?"

"I said when are you heading back home?" The man who challenged the huntsman glared at him with a fire in his eyes. "Is it when you think you've 'helped' enough? Or is it when that coding in your head says you did?" The huntsman winced. After that robot girl got cut to pieces during the festival, a lot of Atlassian huntsmen and soldiers had to deal with this. Still, at least he wasn't a Valian huntsmen. They were facing a… different, effect of the attack.

* * *

"What do you mean you don't need our help?" A Beacon third year asked. He was a faunus with a rat tail and was arguing with a town secretary. "You called Beacon for help right? And we were sent. So what's the problem?"

"There is none!" the women said with her hands up. Right now a team of third years was in outside of the city helping a village that was getting repaired as grimm attacked them just as hard as they did Vale. Now they're asking them to leave. "That's why we're sending you back. We fixed the problem ourselves and we didn't want to waste your time. That's all there is to it!" The third year felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to look at his teammate.

"Let's just go, Cap," She said. "I'm sure Ozpin has another mission for us waiting anyway." The leader looked at the woman one more time before sighing and nodding in agreement. Just as they were about to leave though, a person opened the door and eyed them. He pointed at them and asked the woman behind the counter a question.

"These the Mistralian huntsmen?" The woman tensed up as the third-year leader turned towards her.

"What does he mean Mistralian huntsmen?" He asked.

"Please just leave," she begged.

"No, I want know what he meant by 'Mistralian Huntsmen'!"

"It means we'd rather trust them than you," the guy said. The leader turned around and faced the man. The leader looked into his eyes to see stubbornness and anger.

"Why? What did we do to you?"

"You seriously think that we'd trust you after what happened at the Vytal festival? For all we know all of you were just incompetent as that blonde brat."

"You're going to judge us based on one guy?"

"Well you know what they say about rats. You find one in the open, there are ten in the rafters."

The leader let out a growl at that jab and was about to deck the guy in the face. However he knew that if he did it would only prove them right. Maybe the guy will say that Ozpin would make sure the incident would get buried by playing favorites again, or that all faunus are brutes or something like that. So he just growled and left with his team.

Even though Atlas and Vale was having some bad luck with huntsman, some people in Vacuo were starting to think twice about them as well.

* * *

"Oi, there has to be more to this right?" the Vacuan huntsman asked. He was inspecting the Dust that the mining group had mined that day. See Shade made a deal with this town where twenty-five percent goes to Shade to help fund the students and huntsmen.

"I don't know what you want from us," The head miner said. "We had a slow day today. Maybe the mine's running out." The huntsman raised an eyebrow and placed a hand on his weapon. The head miner eyed the weapon and gulped.

"We just moved here a couple of days ago. There's no way the mine can be running out already."

"Not all mines are filled to the brink with Dust sir. There are some mines where all we find is iron and stone." The huntsman sighs and rubs his face.

"Fine, if we don't get a better haul in a few days we'll move." The head Miner nodded, and the huntsman took the dust over to the pickup point. When the head miner returned to his workers, he noticed a few of them on break and decided to talk with them. At first it was normal stuff, how their families were, how good the haul was today, etc. But eventually, it went around to how the huntsman were doing in town.

"They're fucking robbers," a worker said. "A bandit has the decency to rob you up front. Shade tries to be your pal while forcing you to pay up."

"I heard one town only has to pay ten percent of what they find," Another one added. "What about you boss?"

"It's not like we have much of a choice," the lead miner stated. "We pay for protection against the grimm and bandits, and huntsmen are the best equipped to handle that."

"Yeah, and where was Picaro's protecton when it got raided?" The first worker said. The lead miner was silent to this. Picaro was one of the fastest towns to get raided. Rumors began going around that the huntsmen in charge there extorted more Dust and money than they needed and left the town to die. The kead Miner didn't believe that, but still…

"I can't deny that. But I'd still rather have both huntsmen and our guards protecting us than just our guards." The first miner grumbled but knew he was right. "Besides, this is Vacuo. Any protection is good protection."

"Not really," Miner two said. "did you hear that Shade let in the fraud of beacon?" The other two leaned in as they heard this.

"You're shitting me," the first one said. The other miner shook his head. Despite being almost week old news, some people were still just finding out about Jaune's acceptance in Shade. After all, people in Vacuo have better things to do than worry about some shmuck who's going to get himself killed.

"No. So not only are we being robbed, but it could be going to a guy who doesn't even know how to use it."

"Well I mean, wasn't he the one that also burned down the bandits who destroyed Picaro?" The lead miner asked. "All I'm saying is if the kid can burn down a bandit camp, he's got to know what he's doing." The other miners nodded in agreement, even if it was only reluctantly. "All right, I'm heading home for tonight guys. Hopefully we'll find a bigger cache tomorrow."

"Good night boss," Miner one said.

"Night." With that they all went their separate ways until tomorrow.

While some of the Vacuan Citizens may think that the huntsman are bandits, they were unaware of what some bandits were planning.

* * *

"Why can't we just attack in a few days?" Junkrat asked. "With your mates and mine, not to mention the plan, we can overrun Shade no problem!" Right now Junkrat, Julian, Adam, and Roadhog were in the war room of the camp. It had a giant map of Vacuo in the middle with; dunes, grimm hives, villages, Shade, and other bandit camps painted on it.

"Junkrat, the plan is a rough sketch at this stage," Adam said as he gripped his cane. "Even if all us here were to attack Shade, we wouldn't make as big of a dent if we had more time to gather troops and have a more decisive plan." Adam pointed at a couple of the other bandit camps. "If we try to gather more troops, from the others, there's a better chance that Shade will stay down for good. We don't want to replicate the attack on Vale, we want to make sure it comes crashing down."

"He's right," Roadhog grunted.

"You guys make it sound like we're going to war here," Julian said.

"We are," Adam answered. Junkrat and Julian looked at the red-haired man as if he was nuts. "I'm just preparing for the worst that's all. It took the White Fang had to take months to plan for that attack on Vale, and they didn't even get close to destroying it. Shade is weaker than Vale, so we don't have to plan as long as they did. However, I want to make sure Shade is destroyed, don't you?" Jamison grumbled but nodded his head. Adam could see that the explosive obsessed man was getting antsy. The man sighed, walked over, and gave Jamison a tap with his cane.

"Listen, If there is a chance we can improve our odds, I want to take it. That's why you came to me right?" Another nod from Junkrat. "And, in the event that we fail this attempt, we should be able to get back up and attack again. If we have to start a war just so we don't have to live under Shade's boot, I'm okay with it." He turned and gestured to everyone in the room. "Do you all agree?" A firm nod from Roadhog immediately, and a small one from Julian.

"All right all right," Junkrat grumbled. "Ya made ya point drongo. I can hold off if I need to."

"Besides," Julian added. "Even if some of the others won't help us, I'm sure a few villages share our viewpoint. There'll be no shortage of men."

"Right," Adam agreed. "So that just begs the question: where do we start recruiting?" Roadhog pointed at a map.

"Here," he grunted. Despite a man of few words, Roadhog was able to explain his reasoning for this place. However, Julian proposed they try another place. This meeting was just a back and forth on where to start their recruitment.

Meanwhile, someone else was doing a little bit of recruiting. Only his was a little more… forceful.

* * *

In an alley of a town a couple of huntsmen walked down it, hoping to use it as a shortcut to get back home quicker. One was a female with a greatsword, that seemed to have teeth like a chainsaw that would move. The other was a male with a shield and spear, that could shapeshift into a Warhammer.

"You sure this a shortcut, Luna?" the male asked.

"Trust me Jake," Luna said. "We'll be able to get to the shack faster this way." The huntsman known as Jake let out a soft sigh as he continued to follow his teammate. Just as they were about to exit a sack was pulled over Jake's head and he let out a muffled yell.

Luna turned around and unsheathed her sword and saw a masked figure strangling Jake, now with a sack on his head, with a garrote. Luna let out a viscious growl and charged at the wall beside her and kicked off it to get an angle on the assailant.

The assailant kicked Jake over and dodged Luna's sword swing just in the nick of time. Luna was so focused on the guy in front of her she didn't notice two more pop upp from behind her. One was restraining Jake while the other slowly approached her.

Just as Luna was about to swing her sword again someone came from behind and pulled her into a full nelson. She tried to struggle out, but soon the masked man in front of her placed his hands around her head and sent a surge of aura into her head.

" _ **Stop resisting!"**_ a voice said in her head. She could feel her body and mind go numb. " _ **You work for me now!"**_ Luna continued to try and drown the voice out but it continued to get louder, and her body and mind became number. " _ **You will join me and destroy the brats who wronged me!"**_ Eventually Luna stopped struggling and stood straight up. The man let her go and she swayed side to side a bit before she shook her head and saluted the masked man in front of her.

"Yes sir," she mumbled. The masked man nodded his head and went over to Jake, who still had the sack over his head and was being held by the other person. The masked man did the same thing as he did to Luna and eventually the huntsman was under his control. The three assailants then removed their masks. Two were part of Junkrat's gang, but when the last member decided to leave Junkrat's gang, they followed this guy instead.

Eric rubbed his temples and let out a groan. Subduing these two took a lot out of him. When he was done massaging his head commanded the two huntsmen to follow him back to camp. The other two gang member weren't under his control but were just as impatient at getting back at the students who burned their camp down.

"Now what?" one of them asked.

"Now?" Eric said as they all continued to walk. "Now we get our ammo and supplies, sneak into Shade, and gut those brats who made us homeless!"

* * *

The next semester for the students at Shade would be interesting. Very interesting indeed.

 **End of Arc 2.**

 **A/N Holy hell it's been a while huh? Let's see when I last updated and… 4 months. 4 months I left you guys in the dark. I know no matter what excuse I come up with it won't change that. All I can say is that I needed a break to rest my brain, and then college happened. And with the way I ended things with this Arc I know there are some, a few… a lot of questions. So not only will I hold a Q &A, but I'll answer some that I think are on the back of everyone's minds.**

 **Where is Salem and the crew?**

 **Here's the thing, I can't add them into the story, at least not yet. If I did I would basically become RWBY now: Too many plots and not enough time to finish them. Right now I want to focus on Vacuo, and a little bit of Vale and Atlas. I don't want Salem and crew scheming just for the sake of adding them into the story. They may turn up, but that's if** _ **and only if**_ **I decide to make another story that continues off of this one. Yes I will mention them but they are not the focus of this story.**

 **How often will I update this/when will Arc 3 come out?**

 **Don't count on it being soon. As much as I love updating this fic, College is going to take priority than this. I've already messed up my first semester and have to retake some core classes all over again. That's not exactly something that motivates me to write.**

 **Who am I shipping Jaune with?**

 **Can't say. I may ship him with someone from Shade, I may ship him with someone from Beacon, or he won't be shipped at all! It all depends on what I (and ShadowofZama of course,) think feels natural for them. I don't want to ship people for shipping sake. All I can say is you can interpret my scenes anyway you want.**

 **And those are the ones I can think of. Send me a message or a review for your question and I'll answer them as best I can! Again, for plot's sake I won't give away too much of my future plans but I will try to answer questions as best I can. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and will hopefully see an update soon!**

 **-Ish**

 **Special thanks to ShadowofZama again for sticking with me through this trash heap of a story.**


	35. Arc 3, Chapter 1

Jaune was sent flying into the wall behind him. A loud thud with a bit of pain in his back was what he was met with. He fell to his hands and knees and took deep gulps of air. That last kick knocked the wind out of a him for a bit.

"Get up," his opponent growled. Jaune held out his hand and had the pointer finger up as if to say 'give me a minute.' But it fell on deaf ears. "That means now!" Two huge rough hands gripped the collar of his shirt and shoved him back into the wall. Jaune could see the red marks on his opponents knuckles from the times he hit Jaune. His opponent pulls another fist back and pounds it into Jaune's face. The momentum caused his head to be slammed into the wall causing both his face and the back of his head to sting.

Jaune's opponent was about to hit him again but his punch was blocked by Jaune moving an arm up. He then snaked his arm around it so that his opponent's arm was trapped between his armpit and elbow crease. The blonde tightened the grip causing his opponent to groan in pain. He then struck his target two times in the face.

When Jaune tried to hit him a third time, the target caught his fist and twisted it slightly to make it uncomfortable for the young student. His opponent then brought his knee into the stomach of the defenseless blonde. He keeled over and let go of the person's arm and clutch his stomach.

"Come on! Don't leave yourself defenseless!" His opponent jeered. Jaune was going to retort but took too long to get up causing him to get a boot to the face. Since he still had his back to the wall, he felt his head collide into the stone. He slid down the wall and the boot had then placed itself on his face and continued to add pressure. Remembering this familiar situation Jaune didn't hesitate to punch his advisory right in the family jewels.

His opponent let out a groan and backed away, clutching his sore jewels. Jaune then swiftly got back up and charged at him. He yelled as he tackled the other person to the ground. The two wrestled on the ground for a little bit until Jaune was on top of him with his foe in what he remembered was called full guard.

Jaune began to pound down into his opponents face for a solid few seconds. Eventually the guy on the bottom blocked and counterattacked with a strong jab. Jaune, idiotically, stopped punching to block his head, which would cause his downfall.

His foe gripped Jaune's bunny sweatshirt and slid his opposite knee right up to where his hand was and rocked back and forth causing Jaune to lose his stable position by standing up just a little bit. It was a small movement, but it was enough for the assailant. He then swept Jaune's legs from under him, causing Jaune to fall sideways, with the momentum of the fall causing the advisory to switch places with him. All of this was in a span of three seconds.

Now Jaune was the one in full guard.

The assailant struck Jaune with a flurry of punches, switching from the face and body anytime Jaune tried to protect the one spot he was hitting. Each hit was a reminder of Jaune's failure to keep his guard up. Every punch hurting more than the last as his aura slowly depleted. His vision began to blur and he could feel, and smell, something sticky on his face. That was when he decided to give in.

Jaune tapped his opponent's leg repeatedly while still having one hand protect his face. It took a second but the person on top felt the tap out and stopped punching the poor defenseless blonde. The other person immediately got up, and went to his side to check up on him.

"You good Jaune?" He asked in a worried tone. Jaune responded by taking deep breathes to clear the stars from his vision. Jaune's head felt like a million goliaths were stomping on it, he was out of breath, and smelt, felt, and tasted some blood on his face. Despite that Jaune still gave a thumbs up. "All right, all right just breath. I'm gonna grab a rag and some water." Jaune nodded his head slightly to approve of the plan. As the person sprinted to their bags Jaune concentrated his aura to his head to get back up as soon as he could.

Right now, Jaune was in one of the sparring areas at Shade. While there was the general arena that used for classes and personal fights, that was often filled with people and can sometimes make training hard. It helped with trying to keep focus while distractions were around, and how to avoid others who were fighting nearby, but if someone wanted some privacy, they could go to one of the other sparring rooms.

Jaune's vision began to focus again, and his head wasn't pounding as much anymore. He slowly sat back up and sat crossed legged as he waited for the water and rag. He looked over to see the progress and saw the familiar dark purple and grey shirted leader of BRNZ, with his grey gradient slicked hair blowing slightly past him as he made his way towards Jaune with two water bottles and a white rag in his hands.

Glad to see he didn't need to call a nurse, or morgue for that matter, he walked over to Jaune. He handed him one of the water bottles, knelt, and began to look over him to see where the major bleeding had been. While Jaune's Aura had already covered the wound (Bless his aura reserves!) there was still a little bleeding from the left side of his forehead. Brawnz silently wiped away the blood and held the rag there for a second before speaking again.

"All right hold that there for now," he dictated. Jaune nodded his head and held the rag in his wound and took a sip from the water bottle. After Brawnz double checked to make sure Jaune was good, he plopped right in front of him and took a sip from his water bottle. "You gotta throw in the towel sooner than that Jaune, I nearly gave ya a concussion."

"I'm fine," Jaune replied. "Besides, it's not like if I give up in the real world people are going to stop. Better to get used to it now, right?" Brawnz grunted in annoyance and took a sip from his water bottle.

"Maybe. Keep in mind, we're just training, there's no point in getting yourself killed over a spar." Jaune slightly kicked Branwz's knee.

"I'm pretty sure a spar doesn't involve one of the people involved getting knocked out and a possible concussion."

"Hey you're the one who wanted me to take it up a notch. Don't start crying because you can't take a couple of hits to the face." This was very true. Jaune had been training hand-to-hand with Brawnz for almost three weeks now. During the house warming party a couple weeks back, Jaune mentioned how Pyrrha would help him with his swordmanship due to him having… well having no training whatsoever. Well, some of his friends, being the kind-hearted souls, they were, decided to help Jaune out.

So, Brawnz said he would help him with hand-to-hand combat, saying that if he ever lost Crocea Mors in a fight, he wouldn't be defenseless. Whether or not it was because he wanted to actually help Jaune or just have an excuse to beat the ever-lasting crud out of him was a flip of a coin. Still Jaune was ecstatic that Brawnz would help him with hand-to-hand.

Three weeks of training and Jaune wanted to test his abilities out already. He had only learned the basics; punches, kicks, knees, elbows, and some grapples but that's it. Despite that he practically begged Brawnz to spar a little more aggressively. So, the team leader obliged him and Jaune got his ass handed to him.

"I can take a punch or two!" Jaune stated defensively. All he was met with was a snigger from Brawnz.

"Yeah that last spar _totally_ proved that." Jaune removed the rag form his head and checked his wound. It was no longer bleeding and the wound had already closed up. He tossed aside the rag and water bottle and pointed at Brawnz.

"You want a rematch right now?"

Now, if Jaune was at Beacon, his friends would most likely baby him. They would make sure that he was 100% first, and that he had enough rest before sparring again despite him looking and saying he was fine.

This wasn't Beacon.

Brawnz saw that Jaune healed himself right up, and if he said he was good to go, then that's all there was to it. After all, no one waits until their opponent is 100% anyway. The tan skinned teen tossed his water bottle over his shoulder and stood up.

"If you're ready for round two then get up." Jaune nodded his head and began to stand up. Of course, he knew what Brawnz was planning. He may be an idiot, but he can adapt.

Just as Jaune was about to stand up Brawnz attempted to kick Jaune in the face. However, due to Jaune being prepared, he rolled out of the way just in time for the attack to miss, and used the remaining momentum to get on his feet.

"Whaduya know, he _can_ learn!" Brawnz jeered.

"You gonna stand there or come hit me?" Jaune taunted back. Just like that, the two were back in action training again.

The two stayed up for a solid five minutes. Jaune remembered as much as he could from all of Brawnz's training. Constantly moving was the part that was tough for him. Sure he could be light on his feet and he knew how to block, punch, and kick, but keeping all of that up constantly for a few minutes wears down on a person. Most fights with grimm are only done in a minute or two, three if they're truly tough. Only times it last longer than that is when it's a huge horde or infestation like the attacks on Beacon.

Jaune could feel sweat dripping from him, as if he was a fountain found in the middle of a town or city. His breathing was heavy, and his heart was racing. To make matters worse, Brawnz didn't even look that tired. It made sense, he was a brawler after all. Stuff like this was second nature to him.

Despite that Jaune continued to be on the attack. He inched towards Brawnz trying to make sure he wasn't within Brawnz's reach when he struck. The two were relatively the same height with Jaune only being an inch taller than him. Didn't give him much of an advantage.

Jaune took a giant step forward and launched himself at Brawnz. He landed a solid right hook to his face and then followed up with a left uppercut to the chin. The speed at which Jaune did it caught Brawnz off guard and thus prevented the leader from stopping the attacks.

Jaune was going to get even closer to go for an elbow strike. As he did Brawnz ducked just in time for his elbow to miss him. Brawnz then punched him three times in the stomach and used an uppercut on his chin.

The blonde took a couple steps back from the blow which caused a grin to appear on Brawnz's face. He got a little closer and attempted to roundhouse kick his protégé in the torso. While the kick did succeed, his target pinned Brawnz's leg and raised his elbow high, making it obvious what he was going to do. While it wouldn't break his leg, it wouldn't be a pleasant experience.

He caught Jaune by surprise by falling to the ground with a thud. Despite that his leg was still caught between the arm and body. So Brawnz used his other leg to sweep Jaune's leg one way and used as much strength in his caught leg to force his body to go the other way.

A scissor takedown.

Jaune was unable to stop the takedown and fell on his back. The two wrestled on the ground for control, but eventually Brawnz was able to get into Jaune's full guard with his hand around Jaune's throat. He added pressure to Jaune's neck making it a little hard for him to breath. He raised his right arm and made a fist.

"Any last words?" Brawnz taunted. Jaune only sputtered out words as he was being choked. However, the blonde remembered reading something on getting out of this position.

You see, Jaune often studied people. Okay maybe studied isn't the right word, but he notices things about them, even if he's just met them. For instance, when he first met Ruby, he noticed her unnatural silver eyes, along with the obvious fact that she was a weapons nut. When he spent the first week living with Ren, he noticed that despite carrying many teas and healthy drinks with him, Jasmine tea seemed to be his favorite.

He noticed that Nebula is a huge comic book nerd like him, but she keeps it hidden from anyone she isn't close with. He knows that Dew is very critical with music and often makes her own for fun. He knows that Roy often makes bets with people because he lived with a wealthy family and could afford to lose.

What does that have to do with now? Well, he knows that Brawnz is a brawler, meaning he barely uses grapples. At the very least, he prefers to stay out of them. He never taught Jaune any grapples, hence why Jaune's go-to method was to tackle someone. So, over the weeks Jaune looked up techniques to catch Brawnz off guard. Hopefully this would be enough.

With Brawnz's arm raised in the air and the other grabbing Jaune's neck, Jaune positioned his legs up on Brawnz shoulders as fast as he could. He then grabbed onto Brawnz's wrist and dug his nails into his skin to make him loosen his grip around the blonde's throat.

It succeeded as the leader wasn't expecting him to counter-attack. Jaune then grabbed the arm and held onto it tightly while trying to get as much of the arm as possible. Finally, he placed his legs tightly on the grey haired student's neck. He adjusted his body ever so slightly to the side and squeezed his body together as tight as he could.

If Jaune remembered the name correctly, it was called a triangle choke.

As he tightened his grip, Brawnz was so surprised by the attack that he had no idea what to do. No matter what, he only made the choke harder for himself, and eventually, he tapped out.

Jaune released everything and Brawnz gasped for air. The two slowly stood up and gasped for as much air as they could, before they looked at each other. Jaune extended his hand.

"Even?" he sighed. Brawnz chuckled lightly and shook his hand.

"Even," Brawnz agreed. The two both had grins plastered on their face for the same reason: pride in Jaune. Brawnz had to admit it, Jaune was a fast learner. Maybe it was because he never knew when to relax, but he digressed.

"Gotta say, didn't expect you to know grapples already," Brawnz admitted.

"You think the only training I do is with you?" Jaune asked. "I'm still leagues behind you guys. Our small training sessions can't be the only training I do." Brawnz chuckled again. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing. Just laughing at the fact that you take all of this a little too seriously."

"Of course I do! We're training to fight Grimm and help people. I can't just treat it like a joke." Brawnz raised his hands in defense.

"I'm not saying that. I'm just saying we got a lot of work in our future. No need to work ourselves to the bone ya'know?" Jaune was going to argue but knew he was right. Ever since Beacon, and especially after Shade's initiation, Jaunes been working as hard as he could. He needed to be reminded to slow down sometimes.

"Yeah I get ya. I just don't want to play catch up anymore." Brawnz clasped his shoulder and gave a reassuring squeeze.

"Dude, you're making leaps and bounds in fighting. Trust me, once the semester is over no grimm will want a piece of you." The second year playfully punched Jaune in the shoulder lifting the blonde's spirit. "All right after all of that I think we should call it quits today. You said you had a test to study for tomorrow right?" Jaune groaned as Brawnz reminded him

"Yeah, it's for Camira's class too." Brawnz seethed when he heard who the teacher was. The two students walked over to their stuff and made sure everything was packed. "Still thanks for everything today man."

"Of course! Same time next Sunday?"

"Yep, I'll see you then Brawnz." The two fist bumped each other and went their sperate ways. Brawnz headed back to the locker room while Jaune was just heading back to his dorm. As he did, he pulled out a brown hard cover book with about two hundred pages and a pencil.

During one of his phycologist visits, the ones for his nightmares, his doctor recommended him to keep a journal. She said that keeping a journal can clear thoughts and relive stress. While it may or may not help, Jaune was willing to try.

So, for the past two weeks he's been logging down everything eventful that he's done. Like learning new tricks about his semblance, a huge event that happened (like when Wallace got into a fist fight with another fourth year during lunch) new things he's learned about his friends, and even small stuff like an interesting fact someone told him.

He also started to use the book as a way to take notes. Notes he learned from Dust class would make their way onto the little book, notes he's taken on how certain students fights, and even some details about their weapons!

Notes from other classes made their way onto the journal as well. He used illustrations and colors for Dust types and to help he remember in case he forgot, and he jotted down types of grimm and their strengths and known weaknesses were.

Most of his journal consisted of notes rather than actual events. He was wondering if he should get separate one just for notes. The reason he was writing down all of this was because he thought that if he was bringing that journal with him everywhere, it would help to have notes that would help him on missions. A two hundred page book for event and notes though was a little slim. He'll probably talk to the psychologist if he's doing the right thing or if he should ditch the notes entirely.

He began writing down what he did for training today with Brawnz, going into details about tips Brawnz gave him as well. He was adding onto what he had already written today. He was so concentrated in his journal that he didn't realize that his legs were walking him to his dorm, almost as if they were on auto pilot. A couple of students threw some sneers his way for not watching where he was going but he had completely ignored them.

He finally reached his room and took one last look at his entry.

" _Sunday, third week of Shade._

 _Woke up today without nightmares again. Fifth day in a row that it's happened, maybe this journal is helping? That or I'm just not dwelling on it too much. Although now that I'm writing it down they might pop up again. Probably best to not dwell on it._

 _I have to prepare for Brawnz's training tonight. Hopefully I can remember and try some of the moves I learned online a couple of nights ago. He's been doing this for me ever since I asked a couple of weeks ago and I can't thank him enough. Maybe I should do something like give him a gift? Or just take everyone who's been helping me for dinner some day? Would definitely make it less weird than if I were to do it one-on-one with them individually._

 _I still have to study for some of my classes too. Mr. Jett says I've been making good progress but from my other grades I can tell they've been slipping. Still I can always bring those up, right now I need to make sure I can fight anyone in class without having to nearly get myself killed. After I nearly did another suicide move, Mr. Jett stopped the fight and said that he'll fail me again if I pull a stunt like the first day in class again. It's a little weird how he can tell what I'm thinking before I can put it in motion. Is that his semblance?_

The next lines were just notes that Brawnz had given Jaune about fighting. Stay up, keep an eye on all opponents, work on endurance, etc.

Below that was a recreation of today's training:

 _Training today was eventful to say the least! After our usual warm ups Brawnz and I did a couple of standard reps of punches kicks knees etc. Then we got into sparring, but I wanted to see how far I came from the last few sessions. While I definitely improved, it wasn't as much as I was hoping. I was able to hold him off for about three minutes, but I grew tired and he had a constant offense. Nearly passed out before I tapped._

 _After a few minutes of resting though, we did another round and I was able to win! Although now that I think back on it he probably wasn't trying as hard this time as I was able to last five minutes instead of three. Still when I tried one of the grapples I read on him I was actually able to make him tap! I'm pretty sure he wasn't expecting it though so if I tried it again he'd most likely counter it. I guess I'll try it again see what happens. Still those reps of shadow wrestling with the move definitely helped."_

Satisfied with what he wrote down Jaune entered his dorm, a relived sigh escaping his lips.

He tossed his backpack onto the small couch he had and plopped himself on his bed. He told himself that he would study for Camira's class after resting for a bit. He opened his scroll and looked at his mail, as some of the professors would email them for what to expect for class, the class schedule for the week as the professors are allowed to teach what they feel necessary, or if it was canceled. However, what caught his eye was one from the headmistress.

He opened the email and read it, mumbling the words to himself.

" _This is a message to all Operators-in-training. You'll meet with me on Wednesday this week. I'll assign some of you missions and teams you'll be working with while others will be training with me for the day. You are excused from all classes that day. We meet at 11 near the training areas. I'll see you all then."_

Jaune probed his memory to see if he had any classes on Wednesday. He had combat class with Jett, Dust with Sarid and Math for Wolff but that was it. He could afford to miss those classes for the day. With Wednesday planned, and his email read he continued to stay on his scroll until reluctantly studying for his test tomorrow.

* * *

A large aircraft carrying food, alcohol, medical supplies, and ammo was heading towards the city of Shade. The aircraft belonged to a Shade pilot who would bring supplies from Vale over to Shade whenever they could to make a little extra Lien. After all, who wouldn't want some luxuries from Vale after living in Shade for a few weeks? Still he had agreed to take three extra things with him.

Mainly, three girls.

One looked to be a girl in her younger twenties, with long brown hair and single streak of dark blue dyed hair. She had brought a laptop that was somehow getting a connection without messing with the aircrafts electronics. She also had a black hoodie and leggings, and kept the hood up shadowing her face so only her hair showed.

The other was a girl in her late teens, with medium blonde hair. She had a black and grey leather jacket the stopped as soon as it reached her waist, with a white shirt that had a tiny little see through skirt frill near her waist. She wore blue jeans and black boots. Her outfit gave a "punk girl" attitude. She was twirling a knife between her fingers making sure to stay as far away from the last passenger as she did so.

It was a little girl who looked to be very young. She had short blonde hair that had a pink bow in it. She most likely hasn't even hit the double digits in age yet. She had a dark red shirt on that had the design of an old cartoon on it that went a little past her waist. She wore black tennis shoes and had black leggings on with a skirt at her waist. She was playing with a stuffed teddy bear and humming a tiny tune.

However she looked over to one of the other girls and asked in an adorably soft and quiet voice one thing.

"When will we see Jauney?"

The blonde stopped twirling her blade and looked over to the younger girl. The little one was practically beaming at her waiting for an answer. The older blonde sheathed her knife and walked over to her. She playfully put her hand on top of the little girl's head and gave a tiny rub.

"We'll see him soon I promise," the older one said. She returned the smile with an even brighter one. The little girl nodded her head.

"Okay, I just want to see him soon." The older blonde sighed as she stood up.

"Me too sis, me too." As the younger one continued to play with her doll, the older one walked over to the brunette. "How much longer until we're in Shade?"

"Another few hours," the brunette answered. She never looked away from her laptop. "Why, you getting stir crazy Jade?" Jade responded with a scoff.

"No duh. We've been in here for ten hours already." Jade shifted uncomfortably for a second before asking her sister a question. "Cal, do you think he's missed us?" The brunette topped typing on her laptop and looked at her younger sibling.

"Of course he has…" Jade heard the "but" that was coming. "But it's whether or not he'll be happy to see us. After all we did kick him out of the house." She went back to her laptop and continued to type on it.

"No we didn't," Jade defended. "Dad did that."

"Yeah, and we didn't stop him." Jade flinch when Calista said that. No matter what, Jade couldn't help but feel guilty. She loved her brother, she truly did. And how does she show it? By doing nothing when their dad practically disowned him.

Sure she was angry at him for what he did. He not only embarrassed himself, but he brought bad word to the family. Living in a village didn't make that easy to live with. They were able to bounce back from it, but the scar was still there.

But to just kick him out entirely? No one was expecting their dad to do that.

Calista could see that Jade was mulling it over and sighed. She was never good with this kind of thing but her little sister needed her right now.

"Hey," She tugged on her younger sister's sleeve. The blonde looked over to see that she had removed her hood and could see her sister's brown eyes. "He's family. _We're_ his family. He won't blow us off." Jade scoffed.

"You sound so sure…" she said bitterly.

"Because I am. He still loves us, I'm positive." Jade is silent for a few seconds, as if to collect her thoughts. And then…

"If he doesn't?" Calista shut her laptop and stood up and gave her sister a side hug.

"Then we'll just have make him love us again." There is silence between the two of them. But it wasn't uncomfortable silence, it was almost hopeful silence. Jade smiled and looked at her sister, giving her a silent thanks for cheering her up. Then, she followed up with this.

"So, by 'make him' you mean we're just going to bully him until he does, right?" Calista giggled.

"Is there any other way to treat family?" The two shared a laugh which caught the attention of their little sister. She saw the two of them side hugging and ran up to them and wrapped her little arms around their legs.

"Hugs!" she yelled out. The two older sisters were surprised by this but soon wrapped their arms around her to make a big group hug. This was all that Jaune needed, they were sure of that.

 **To be** **continued**

 **Beta: TheShadowOfZama**

 **A/N: Hey All! Welcome back to Student of Shade! I decided to give you the first chapter of Arc 3 a little after the birthdate of this fic as a little gift. However, i'm still working on the Arc, as I want to be able to post chapters every week or twice a week depending on how many chapters I get to. That means I want to finish writing first, then post. Right now I'm on chapter 8 and still intend to edit some things once i reread everything. So far i'm enjoying writing, and I hope you all enjoy reading, hopefully I'll see you all again soon.**


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